For all the prayer and planning that go into composing this magazine every month, each issue invariably holds surprises even for those most familiar with the details of its content, style, word count, and so on. Those surprises—those unexpected gifts of inspiration and cheer—feel to us a bit like a wink from heaven, as if to say "There's no end to 'the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!'"1
One of the surprises we noticed this month was the interplay throughout the magazine between getting along with others and seeing clearly. You'll find it in the "Starting-point" piece on the power of forgiveness in Nazi Germany and in the cover feature "From many cultures, one race." It's present as well in the description of Babemba tribal practices in southern Africa (see Jill Gooding's "To see as God sees") and in a mother's efforts to be truthful with her children (see "Honesty in parenting"). No matter the circumstances, improved relations required a more spiritual perspective, a higher view. It came as a happy surprise, then, to discover that the Hebrew word nâsâ', sometimes translated in the Scriptures as "forgive," also means "to lift up the eyes."
As this month's magazine lifts your vision of yourself and your neighbor, we trust you'll be warmed, as we were, by a wink or two from heaven.
