When my wife joined my family, it took awhile for her to belong. Acceptance always takes time. In the beginning, Peggy was just a good listener - a silent observer at the Campolo family gatherings. She listened in as the stories of those who belonged to the family were told, took them for the exaggerations they were, and enjoyed them. But there came that time when the relatives gathered to tell our stories and stories about Peggy came to be included as well. When she became part of the family legend, I knew that she had become one of us. In the minds and the hearts of the Campolo clan, her story had become part of our story.
Stories about a family give that family spiritual substance. They give a group of relatives a mystique. They set the family apart from the rest of the world and establish a tradition that gives the family pride and glory. But if we are going to have family stories, then we have to have regular times when families get together for the stories to be told. That's why dinnertime is so important. When a family eats together and makes the dinner hour a time of sharing stories, the solidarity of the family is given reinforcement and vitality.
- Tony Campolo in "Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God"
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