Deep thoughts..or not

Joel and I watched God Grew Tired of Us, a documentary following the transition of several Sudanese men from a refugee camp in Kenya to life in the United States. I highly recommend it. One of my favorite quotes from the main "character" was him commenting on our celebration of Christmas: "What is this Christmas tree all about? I think it is beautiful, yes, but no one can tell me the significance. Is it in the Bible? I think I cannot find it there. And Santa. I do not think he is in the Bible either. For me, Christmas time is about preparing myself spiritually." Ahhh, so refreshing.
We are in Houston today visiting Pancho (my dad) and Aunt Lefty (my sister). Emmy loves spending time with both sets of her grandparents. It is such a blessing watching her interact with my dad and with Joel's parents. They love her so well and I am excited for Boone to experience the joy of family also. The other day Emmy asked where Grandma was. I didn't think I heard her right since she only got to spend limited amounts of time with my mom due to her declining health. But sure enough she asked again and I heard her loud and clear. I almost felt like her question was a gift from God...His way of letting me know that I can share my mom with the kiddos and that she won't be forgotten.

Next weekend one of my favorite people is getting married. Joel and I are going to fly to Florida on Saturday and spend the weekend playing with friends and spending some much needed husby/wife time together. Marriage is hard. You don't really believe it when you are single. You kind of roll your eyes at the person saying that simply because you can't imagine why it could be that hard, especially if you pick the right person. Duh. It's a no-brainer right? Wrong! It is a challenge to love someone selflessly when every fiber of your being wants what YOU want and your mind wonders why in the world doesn't my SOUL MATE get me like he should??? Or serve ME like he should? Or talk to Me like I want him to? Or.....Yuck! I have been so convicted lately by the fact that I have bought into the false idealogy of marriage that our media and culture has set up, yes even our Christian culture. Gasp! Oh no she didn't. No wonder more than half of all marriages fail and there is now a huge market for post-divorce parties and break-up products. Newsflash Katie: Marriage isn't about YOU! I'm going to chew on that one today.