Just a Thought...

In addition to working at Trader Joe's, I babysit for a family with two children. Johanna is 4 (we're also birthday twins!) and Louie is 8. I enjoy doing it and I love the relationship Carol and I have with the family. The family is Jewish, and Lauren the mother, seems always willing to talk about her family's faith tradition and its customs. She also asks me about things related to seminary and serving a church. The overlap between our two Abrahamic faiths has been amazing to explore. Recently, Carol and I served with Lauren and Louie at a soup kitchen sponsored by their synagogue. And it got me thinking... A work of service is an incredible way of bringing people together, especially if people are divided along religious lines. What a great way to foster friendship and charitable dialogue to further deeper understanding and empathy. What if this same tactic was used to unite people of differing political allegiances? What if the U.S. Senate built a house for Habitat for Humanity or something before trying to vote on an important piece of legislation? Would this help to make things less divisive? Just something I've been thinking about. Thanks for reading.