Suddenly, one of the participants told a joke that garnered a few laughs. My mind searched for a humorous comment that could be attached to it and I thought of something that would have been fun to say but, by then, the joke was over and conversation had moved to other areas.

Sitting out on the patio as the sun was setting, surrounded by the festive chatting and the traffic noises, I became withdrawn. I closed up, like a sea anemone. As I made the decision to close up, I became aware that I didn't really want to do that. My wife was sitting beside me, two teens were seated, quietly, in front of me and a third teen was at the BBQ, turning over some meat for her sandwich. Many adults were also sitting around. Everyone was in his own world. I was in mine. I concentrated on my plate of food in front of me. It was not asking me to participate in any conversations. It just stared back at me and looked and tasted good. That was the kind of relationship I could appreciate for the moment. But still, an uneasiness prevailed. I didn't really want to be so "into" the food and so out of the relationships with other people.

I decided to say a prayer. Quietly, I asked the Holy Spirit to come into my heart and help me not be so withdrawn.

Was it a fluke? What happened next was surprising and an observable scientific experience to my mind. The second the prayer was finished, the young girl at the grill turned to me and said, "Hi, Vic," even though she had already said that earlier. I responded joyfully with, "Hi. Are you about ready to chow down?" The teens in front of me began to talk about computers and the Internet and I had a few comments and questions to ask them. In an instant, the Holy Spirit appeared to have blessed the moment with animation and life. Relationships that could have remained dead, sprang forth like flowers with fresh scents and new colorful blossoms.

Perhaps the most incredible thing was the joke that was told earlier came up in conversation again. That just doesn't happen too often. And, amazingly quick to others, I shot out with the humorous addition that I had thought of earlier. It brought the house down.

The key to this whole thing was becoming the observer. I observed that I was in a state of mind that I didn't want to be in. I was feeling isolated and separate from my fellow passengers on this party ship I was sailing. As the observer, I could choose differently. When I did, the Holy Spirit responded instantly. I was no longer a victim of my isolated feelings, but the conqueror of them. I was no longer focused on myself, but, in an instant, was focused on God's children who surrounded me. And the children of God who surrounded me responded instantly to my prayer. Something in them reached out to the Something in me. I wanted to love them. Deep inside them, they wanted to love me. With my prayer, Holy Spirit allowed our wish to come true.  

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