Touch is the story of an autistic boy who sees and interprets everything through various numbers, letters, and geometric designs. They appear random to everyone except him. He sees them as a code within a framework for connecting lives around the world. The boy doesn't speak, but he does communicate by writing or demonstrating the code...over and over.

The code is different depending on the people and the circumstances. As it changes, the boy's silent messages change. And the person he communicates with is his father -- a confused, often frustrated man who finds himself caught up in his son's efforts to connect seemingly unrelated lives. Sometimes they discover the connection, sometimes they don't. But the connection is always for their good.

This got me thinking. Our means of connection is vast -- phones, email, letters, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, YouTube, books, magazines, television, radio, cable, satellite, and on it goes. People are grouped in many ways and each group has its own lines of connection. One group that especially interests me is SWEATHOG, which obviously stands for Souls Wandering Earnestly After The Heart Of God.

Members include those who (i) occasionally seek God, (ii) regularly seek Him, and (iii), believing they found Him, have stopped altogether. The group is based on the idea of loving and encouraging each other. Yet while they all need such care and attention, some desperately, not everyone participates. Instead, they wander through life, missing opportunities to connect with others in the world.

If you're reading this, and I'll assume that's the case, you are most likely a Sweathog. Me, too. It's a rather broad group. We live in the present, except when mired in the past or dreaming of the future. We enjoy life to its fullest, unless it's time for a nap. There are many of us and each is quite different, though one thing is true of all.

However we may call ourselves -- Christian, Believer, Follower, Chuckian -- each of us has a powerful connection to God. Country, culture, job, money, education, language, distance...these are not barriers. In fact, there are no barriers. Our means of connection is the Spirit of God, the same Holy Spirit whom our Heavenly Father has given to counsel us in our walk with His Son.

But even with this knowledge, we may wander. We misunderstand God's framework for connecting lives, seeing only those lines that extend directly from us to Him. But that's merely a part of the framework. In God's network, each of us are also connected to the other. We are one family. We are brothers and sisters. And what happens to one, affects us all.

Or is it mere chance that you happen to be reading this Note? Is it only coincidence when one speaks to your heart about something you were certain was carefully hidden away? No. These occur because of the connections among us. God speaks. I write. We send. You read. The transmission is complete. I may not know His message for you, but one thing is certain: The code for connecting lives around the world is Jesus Christ and by following the code...we encourage and are encouraged...we love and are loved.