My family is unique because it is a blended family – three kids on one side from a marriage that
ended in divorce, two kids on the other side from a marriage that ended in death, and the sixth
daughter from the new union between my mom and step-dad. Then there’s Sarah. Somehow,
with our variety of backgrounds, we all look the same, except Sarah.

My youngest sister, Sarah, was adopted from China into our white family with six towheaded
girls eight years ago. In recent years, she has started asking questions about where she’s from
and why she looks so different from the rest of us. She is obsessed with clinging to her
heritage, and proudly proclaims she is Chinese in every American patriotic context. For many
school projects, she has studied the history, language, and culture of China, because she longs to know more about China than the U.S.

I recently went onto Facebook to steal a few pictures from a friend. Sarah was being asked by
kids at school why her parents are white. She continued to boast of her heritage, but was
ridiculed even more so as her peers stated she wasn’t truly Chinese if she lives in the U.S. with
white parents who know practically nothing of her claimed nationality. I stole pictures from a
friend so I could show Sarah another family of white parents with a Chinese daughter, and
reassure her that we’re still a family despite our differences and our ignorance toward China.
Sarah must be constantly reminded that she is loved, wanted, and was chosen. We don’t know
much of anything about her birth mother, so it’s often hard to find answers to her deep
questions. A few weeks ago, my mom shared with me that she was conversing with Sarah
about adoption. Sarah asked, “Mom, when will I have to go back? When will I have to go back
to China?”

Genesis 10 holds the very long lineage of Noah and his sons, containing the information for the
lines of 70 different nations. Looking at the list of name after name, none with easy
pronunciations, has me in awe of the way the Lord multiplied His people and covered the earth.
Living under the new covenant of Jesus’ blood, we also get to see the beautiful picture of Jesus drawing people from every nation, tribe, and tongue to Himself.

Sarah’s passion for claiming the Chinese heritage should be reflective of our own passion for
claiming our adoption as sons and daughters of Christ. We should long to study that history
and lineage - seeing that our lineage becomes a branch grafted into the great tree of the Lord’s
family because of His blood shed for us.

Also, Sarah’s questions remind me to delight in our differences and remember the sacrifice of
our Savior for this great diversity. And she reminds me to consider my identity in Christ above
all else. Sarah sits in a limbo state of feeling disconnected from China, but looking like that
people group, and feeling connected to her adoptive family, but looking like she doesn’t belong.

But this is the beauty of the Gospel! We are adopted by Christ, even though we all look like we
don’t belong, and seem to be claiming a heritage that is unfamiliar to us. And yet, the Lord
welcomes us. He chooses us. He is glorified by the great number of different peoples, nations,
tribes, and tongues that worship Him.

~ Emily Spare