Sunday Afternoon Tea

In the midst of chaos, the thoughts I've been pondering this week have to do with The Fellowship of the King.  No, I am not mixing my Tolkien titles.  Instead I have been thinking about the fellowship we... who are united in our decision to follow our Lord and King... enjoy whether we know each other in person or only through the various technologies available at this moment of time.

These rather happy ponderings were sparked by sad news, the passing away of one of my long time Internet friends.  We knew Penney as Tinger... one of the original ladies in our Christian women's forum whose friendship found its' genesis in the emergency preparedness site of the late 1990s.  Tinger experienced a battle with cancer for over a decade with such bravery and grace.

A very proud Canadian, we always laughed how she could trump any of our complaints about brutal winter weather in the "Lower 48" with her tales of -50 wind chills and recent twenty foot snowfalls.  She will be missed but all her friends are relieved to know her days of pain are now behind her.

I started thinking how tears could be shed for a friend I've never met in person and how lovely friendships have developed over the years with people I have only spent time with through the technology of the computer.

A handful of us have met in person as our paths crossed over the years and with some there have been the occasional telephone call.  At times we have shared handwritten letters and cards... but mostly e-mails, forums, blogs, and all other sources of technology which utilize mouse, keyboard, and monitor.

I remember somewhere in my reading... I think it was Ravi Zacharias' autobiography... where he talked about that odd feeling one finds coming upon them when sitting in a busy airport or at a table in a crowded coffee shop and instinctively feeling a connection with another person.  As a conversation is begun and questions asked, one finds the other to be a fellow follower of Christ and the attraction to another was that of the Holy Spirit who lives within all who follow Him.

I've had that experience before, which is most likely why that passage of words jumped from the book into my memory!   It was as if a total stranger was a long lost relative with instant fellowship between us as we talked and listened and listened and talked... instant friends who perhaps will know each other for years and years or may only chat until it is time to pick up a child from their fencing lesson or be on time for an English class.

I have been asked numerous times why I believe blogs are so popular and their numbers are now in the millions.  I know there are many reasons but one I find over and over in my own little corner of Blogdom is the joy that comes with finding those who understand us... some who enjoy the same style of decorating, or cooking, or sewing, or homeschooling, or simpler lifestyles, or pets, or books, or tea time... etcetera.

But also the Fellowship of the followers of the King... fellow brothers and sisters in Christ from all parts of the world.  What is that line of C. S. Lewis in Shadowlands?  "We read to know we are not alone."

How very true in this place of time and history... and we feel that fellowship with other believers through land lines and DSL and satellites and all other modern forms of taking this amazing vehicle of communication to all the world... and some become very, very special friends.