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by Parker J. Cole

There was a YouTube video going around about a year or so ago. It showed an all Korean choir singing Richard Smallwood’s classic song, “Total Praise.” Largely attributed as part of the black gospel choir circuit, the buzz about how well this all Korean choir sounded had everyone viewing the video. 

As I watched the video, I had a thought or an image in my head: heaven’s gonna look a lot different than we thought. That choir’s gonna have a ton of ethnic groups singing ‘Total Praise’ to the Almighty God who painted us all different colors. 

It was then I saw a glimpse of heaven. 

Since the release of my book, Time to Say Goodbye, I’ve been fortunate to get a few reviews for it. Like any author, waiting for reviews can be something of a headache, especially when you have to wait to get feedback. It took a while but the reviews began coming in. Of the reviews, I’ve so far come against a few of them that mention how the book introduced them to Indian culture. In the beginning of the book, I make sure to give homage to all my Indian friends who helped me with the book, whether through sharing their advice or experiences or by other means.  

In my current work in process, called The Element of Yu, I am writing from the viewpoint of an Asian woman who is half Chinese and half Korean in love with a charismatic Japanese man. My love for K-dramas, kung fu movies, and anime collide I guess. This is not saying this is how each ethnic group should be perceived based solely on the entertainment. It’s just that these media introduced me to the cultures in different ways. Thankfully, I have friends I can reach out to for help to make sure I get it right.  

When I first started the Michigan Sweet series, I just wanted to highlight my state. There’s interesting history here and hidden gems, especially when you get to the Upper Peninsula, called by we Michiganders, “The UP”, “Up North”, and “The North”. Yet, as the series has grown, I realized I wanted to highlight multicultural characters who live in Michigan and experience these rare spots while overcoming various challenges and adversities.   

Further some of these characters would be Christians and would view their faith within their cultural context. At the end of the day, Jesus Christ truly brings down the barriers between us all. No matter what ethnic group, financial status, family background, or anything else, at the end of the day, despite popular rhetoric, Christ brings us all together in a way cute platitudes, cliché, and moral relativity will never do.  

In a time when social tensions, among other things, are at a high, it makes me smile to think one day, “every knee shall bow” from all over the planet, to the Almighty God who will simply call us by our relationship to Him: sons and daughters while we continue to call each other brother and sister. 

Galatians 3: 27-29: “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

About the Author:

Parker J. Cole is a writer and radio show host who spends most of her time reading, knitting, writing, cooking, and concocting new ideas for stories. Her first novel, Dark Cherub, won Best of Spring Reading 2013 from eMediaCampaigns. She lives in Michigan with her husband and beloved dog Sarah.

Visit her site at http://www.ParkerJCole.com