Abu Dhabi’s Abrahamic Family House is an unending echo in my mind. Design to bring Abraham’s family’s three faith systems together in one place, the home is a celebration of everything that binds us together. Each morning I can see the Family House in the distance. I am reminded that I am part of Divinity’s family; each member with a unique perspective while sharing values reflecting humanity’s best.
Life is a cup not quite full. We are thirsty, longing for more. There is a calling to fill in the void with compassion, care, and community-driven action. Water is our shared lifeblood. Equally true, to be whole, there is a shared longing to experience a compassionate embrace, empathetic forgiveness, and respectful acceptance. Each decision and choice I make, each action I take, fills life’s cup.
The story begins before we are ready. I carry a sense that I am always trying to catch up with my ideals of who I want to be. One reminder of Abrahamic House is that everything has been prepared before I even knew I was on a mission. My story does not begin when I am ready. It begins when I embrace the larger story that I am a part of. No preparation is required. All qualifications satisfied by being Divinity’s child.
A wisdom elder left us with a long description that applies to the three Abrahamic faiths and beyond. “Abraham is father of all people who embrace what God does for them while they are still on the “outs” with God, as yet unidentified as God’s, in an “uncircumcised” condition. It is precisely these people in this condition who are called “set right by God and with God”! Abraham is also, of course, father of those who have undergone the religious rite of circumcision not just because of the ritual but because they were willing to live in the risky faith-embrace of God’s action for them, the way Abraham lived long before he was marked by circumcision.” (Romans 4.12)
I know I am not alone. Brothers and sisters share the journey.
