~ by Joanne Sturt who is a student of Anthropology – a malleable thinker emerging from a shy voice, asking big questions, seeking bigger answers only to continue being on a path of 100% learning. She currently resides in Riverside, CA.
Recently, it just hit me that I’ve been incredibly blessed to have lived in three vastly contrasting countries of the world. I was born in India, spent time in Kuwait and the UAE, and now live the west coast of the United States. Those experiences are priceless!
Surrounded by different faiths, identities, and customs as a citizen of each country has taught me invaluable lessons about embracing community and expressing identity without feeling lost or alienated. Whether visiting my Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Arab, Indian, Christian, or American friends, in the end we are just friends. We share our dreams together, our beliefs, our family customs, and our food, and dances.
What impresses me about being part of the communities in which I have lived is the richness of discovering other people’s lives. I have become not just an honored guest in a faraway land, but a family member in a Muslim home during the holy month of Ramadan, a sister of a Sikh bride on her traditional wedding day doing Mehendi artwork on her hands, and as children of God we have offered prayers together to our Creator as we gathered before a feast of food. This has been far more than simply exploring unfamiliar territory, I have found fun being in someone else’s space! It is a blessing to immerse ourselves in the communities where we live.
Is this Utopia talk? Not really. Many of us have caught on to this idea. Any of us can grasp this Utopia and learn to be ourselves, rooted in what we believe whole-heartedly, and still find genuine friendships with people quite different from ourselves, not just toleration of differences. I have found my most authentic friendships are with the people with whom I can disagree and agree on ideas, we can argue, laugh, share, and still find ourselves inseparable. Those are my best, my most festive friendships!
So I’m thrilled to learn about Faith House. It will be the kind of place where this mixing and sharing happens all the time. My guess is that God is having fun watching us mingle together this way. Let the festivities begin!
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