Something happened today that I thought deserved a separate post...
I've met several people here who became Christians after growing up Hindu most of their lives. In a country where such decisions are not made lightly, I really wanted to hear their stories. I knew one such elderly gentleman at church, "H".
Today after service, I asked "H" if he could share his story with me. His face lit up at my request and he proceeded to tell me, with much enthusiasm, about his struggle years ago searching for spiritual truth while comparing Hindu scriptures with the Bible.
Right now, I reflect not so much on "H's" story (which I loved hearing), but rather his remarks afterwards. He told me how blessed he was that I was interested to hear his story in the first place. "H" lamented the generation gap that he senses keeps people from learning about each other. He appreciated that I, as a younger person, desired and initiated to learn something from his generation. As we parted, "H" unexpectedly gave me a big, hearty bear hug....a surprisingly demonstrative gesture for anyone in India!
I serendipitously took away a lesson from my encounter with "H" today....about the value of valuing others' life journeys, simply by asking to hear their stories.
