How do we think about God?

“Do you think about God using your analytical mind?” she asked.
I was sitting at a desk in a bookstore……signing a copy of my book for this young woman.
She was a scientist employed at the big government lab in Los Alamos.
“I use both analytical and intuitive modes”, I replied, “but my natural bent is analytical”.

“How does that work?” she pursued, putting her coffee down on my table to take a Snickers Mini from the bowl that was there to attract kids. My book is about hiking with my grandkids, who were 8 and 12 in the adventures of Hiking Toward Heaven.

“Well, I tend to analyze the stories that Jesus told”, I answered, “but then I look for feelings beyond the analysis. As an example, the two disciples who walked to Emmaus after the resurrection didn’t recognize the man who appeared out of nowhere and joined them. The man proceeded to unfold the ancient scriptures to them, which helped them understand the reason for Jesus’ death and resurrection.

I think these men were analytical thinkers, and they needed to understand the resurrection through their analytical minds, even though it may have taken an hour or more to explain (and even though the explainer was Jesus himself!)”

“Aha!” she wanted to confirm, “So you think God speaks to some people through their analytical minds?”
“Yes I do, and to some people he speaks through their intuitive minds. I knew a woman who wasn’t very analytical at all, but she would say ‘I’m waiting to hear from God’. And suddenly something would happen, and she would say ‘Now I know what I’m supposed to do’…..all very intuitive”.

“So it’s good to keep both sides of your mind open?” she suggested, reaching for another Snickers Mini.
“Yes, I feel like I receive insights from God in both sides of my mind”, I smiled, “and in my professional work as a petroleum engineer, as well as in the rest of my life”.

The Gray Nomad…..
trying to touch the thinkers.