Fasting

I ordered my breakfast in before I went to work today. I also packed a lunch. I had leftovers from the Macaroni Grill last night. This thing is workable, it just takes minor adjustments. As an astute reader commented last night, they fine you $250 if you get caught drinking, eating, or even chewing gum (Im told) in public. There is a lot of pressure. Its amazing the influence they put on this. Parking tickets cost about $20, littering $25, Speeding or traffic violations around $50, Having a drink during Ramadan $250, Adjusting and respecting a different culture…Priceless. Ok…I had to throw that last part in. But just looking at the price figures shows how much emphasis they place on religious values.

I think I like Ramadan. On my way home from work at 6:00 there was absolutely hardly any traffic. A 45-60 min. ride was done in 15 min. Its like the streets were deserted. I can imagine all the Muslims looking at their watches. With fork in other hand waiting…waiting….waiting…then boom. The feast is on. So everyone was off the road and into the restaurants waiting for the horn to sound (no there is no horn) and then they could be off to the races. They call them Iftar buffets which is the meal that breaks the fast. There is sooooo much food placed out on these buffets. Its truly as sight to behold. What I like about this time…is it all about the family and celebrating the family and religious values. By law, the hours of work for Muslims are also different. They are only supposed to work 6 hours a day instead of the regular 8-10 hours. At our company meeting today, I was counting how many Muslims we had working for us, I counted three. Then Khalifa laughed and raised his hand and said what about me? Oh yeah…four. We all had a laugh about that. We have four Muslims working for our company and 8 Christians, go figure that in an Islamic country. The other four I think are Hindus. Since hindus believe in reincarnation, and if they live good they come back as something better…or worse if they live bad. So I asked if they wind up to be Americans in their next life is that a curse or a blessing? I’ve never got a straight answer on that one.

Some Muslims are very passionate about their faith others are not. But they all consider themselves Muslims, but some are practicing Muslims, some are non-practicing. Most are practicing Muslims especially during Ramadan. I think it’s the Christian equivalent of the people that attend church on Christmas and Easter…Most of the Muslims that I met, participate in the Ramadan fast. So from sun up to sun down, no cigarettes, food, or drink. I was talking to a client today and he was forgetting something. He said…you’ll have to forgive me…I’m fasting. So that is the fall back I think, Im fasting covers a lot of mistakes if you make them. Now fasting is difficult. I remember when I do my fasts, usually the 1-2 or 3 day variety, I get very weak and not a lot of energy. Im not sure if that has to do with my diabetes or just the result of fasting. Its interesting…whenever I do fast, my blood sugar numbers are usually perfect. I think that is one way of God honoring my sacrifice. Fasting is so vital for the Christian walk but so few people actually participate in it. If you want to hear from God…you fast. Denying physical needs is just like opening up your ears to heaven. God’s voice just becomes louder and more recognizable. I don’t think churches encourage or teach people how to fast enough. When Jesus was explaining the fasting to his disciples he said “When you fast…” Not if you fast. So there was an expectation for his followers to do the fast regularly and it wasn’t conveyed as optional. He also said, do the fast in secret, don’t showboat. Sometimes during fasts there is a little bit of showboating. But I respect the commitment and unity that the Muslims have in their quest. Again, I wish there was something that Christians could do to emulate this. Some people give things up for lent…or make resolutions but it doesn’t have the same impact.

I had a great time after work playing Squash with Mr. Texas. This is the first time I’ve really been able to get together with him since his wedding plans fell apart. He was relieved that it happened when it did….still it was tough for him to take. I can’t imagine how tough that must be for him. We had three great games and we were both so winded afterwards. We played at the British Club, then went for a swim afterwards to cool down. Then had a great dinner poolside in the warm Arabic night. It was around 85 degrees…but not too miserable. It was just an overall good day.