"Someone they haven't met yet."

One of the most profound things I ever heard was from an acquaintance of mine. We were at the home of a mutual friend and we were talking about God, religion, and romantic relationships, as young people often do. It came up in the course of conversation that she had many friends who were atheists or definitely leaning strongly toward that worldview. She said, very simply, that she had many experiences in her life that had to be divine intervention. Then she noted that she likes to view her friends’ atheism in this way: God was someone they had not met yet. Very simple. Profound. Certainly not the only word one could say on this topic, but a helpful thought when in relationship with atheists and people with similar views. I find that simply thinking of it helps me to love them.