Recently, I commented to Josiah on how tanned he was. After a brief lesson on what it means to be tanned, he said he liked how he was more yellow, and was really hoping that it wouldn't go away once the winter came. He said it made him more 'Asian', just like how his hair is starting to also get a bit darker, and not be so blond. This made me a little sad. I love his sandy blond hair and all my kids have pale white skin, just like their momma :). He wasn't complaining about it, and I also don't think he was coveting what other people have. He was just stating a fact. We are currently the only non Asian kids (at least that we have ever seen or know about) who live in our city. His best friends are Asian (other than his siblings), every single person in his school is Asian. As he grows, this difference is becoming more and more obvious to him.
I struggle in this area. I do not exactly know or understand what my children are facing each day. I, myself, barely understand the culture we live in and they are immersed in it. I want to empathize with them, yet also give them the tools to live here and live wherever they live in the future. I also do not want them to find their identity based on those who are around them but to find their identity in Christ. I want them to know they are created by God, that He created them just as He desired, and that He has a purpose for their lives. Jared and I often wonder what struggles our children will face during adolescence and adulthood, we can only imagine considering we did not experience the same cultures and times our children face. We do know that God knew, and knows, where our children would be each day of their lives, knows what they will face in the future. We pray that each of our children would place their faith and hope in their Creator, in the Son who was sent to a culture where he was not from, and died so that they may know the Father.
Thankful for my little 'Asian' white kids, and the perseverance God is giving them!
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