December 25, 2004
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I’ve had a wonderful Christmas morning. My son was home which is always a great treat, and I got to spend it with him and my lovely wife, opening presents, having fun, and just enjoying being together.
I also had a rather thought provoking Christmas afternoon. We went to my wife’s sister’s house for Christmas dinner. Her husband is a very interesting guy. He was born in Jordan but moved to London as a small boy and lived there most of his life. He looks middle eastern but when he opens his mouth and that thick British accent comes out, it makes you do a double take.
He owns a catering company and is a highly respected and sought after chef here in Tulsa. I don’t have to tell you how incredible Christmas dinner was and you would have to see the dinner table decor to believe it (I’ll post a picture soon). I was there with my wife and her mother. Her sister’s two daughters were there and my brother in law’s two brothers, their wives, and children were all there.
Here is what I found intriguing: My brother in law, his brothers, and their families are all Muslim. My wife and I, her sister and her daughters, and my mother in law are all Protestant Christians of some flavor. However, that fact didn’t even occur to me until I was driving home tonight, and I had to smile when I realized that it hadn’t occured to me until then.
There were no Muslims and no Christians there today. There were a bunch of kids playing hide and go seek in the front yard, and watching “Shrek 2″ much too loudly in the living room. There were also a bunch of adults sitting around the dinner table, eating too much desert, sipping wine, and laughing hysterically while telling funny stories about each other. There was simply an extended family celebrating Christmas together with absolutely no thought about race, religion, or political agendas.
I wish the entire world could be like our celebration today. Maybe someday it will be.
(See my son’s November 6th blog entry about his trip to a Mosque in Waco)
Comments (2)
That is wonderful that everyone can unite…regardless of race or religion….that is definitely a Christmas blessing! A dear friend of my family lives in Tulsa too. Glad you had a great Christmas and I hope you have a wonderful new year also.
“However, that fact didn’t even occur to me until I was driving home tonight, and I had to smile when I realized that it hadn’t occured to me until then.”
That is perhaps the best thing I have heard said about this Christmas. God Bless a blindness towards differences that brings us together in a REAL Community!
Merry Christmas Dad!