There I was, just a young girl in elementary school, sitting at my desk and filling out the blank boxes inside the cover of my marbled composition notebook. I write my name down, trying—hard as I may—to scribble it out in script, all messy and illegible. I write out my grade and my teacher’s name. Then, for my address, I write between the lines:
Brazil.
I write no street name, house number, zip code, or actual address—just Brazil. And, truth be told, I did not actually live in Brazil…nor am I even Brazilian.
This memory comes to me from time to time, and I think about the exact moment I wrote Brazil. I think about the young girl I was and how desperately I wanted to simplify my story, to hide the complexities of confessing the truth about who I was. The truth about who I am.
I am a mixed woman of African American, Native American (Ramapough Lenape Nation), Irish, and Dutch descent. With that, I carry many stories—of how my family came to be, of speculation and fact, of knowing what it feels like to fear that you don’t belong. I carry hand-me-down histories, the inherited tensions and traumas of being Black and White, and everything in between.
So that young girl that I was, writing inside the cover of her black and white composition notebook? She became Brazilian; she bent the truth and tried to become something that she thought would be easier to recall, easier to retell—and, therefore, easier to welcome.
This Advent, we reflect on and receive the sacred truth that the One who is the desire of every nation is also the One who delights in every nation.
We turn our eyes to see our Savior, Jesus Christ, the One who shed His blood for every beating heart, no matter the language, no matter the accent or dialect (Revelation 5:9). This love, this longing for all of us—even, especially for those foreign and far from God—echoes throughout eternity, from Genesis to Revelation, from creation until the second coming, and beyond (Isaiah 56:3–8).
His heart is a house for all nations. His hands are stretched out for all people of all places (Isaiah 56:7–8). From Jew to Gentile (Romans 9:22–26) and male to female, He is for every eunuch (Acts 8:26–39) and everyone seemingly unseen. Beyond every country and continent, He welcomes us to His table (Mark 7:24–30) if only we have ears to hear and humble hearts to receive Him. For we are all His children, bought and brought into this family—into His family.
For this, we celebrate and center ourselves around Him, this season. We come out of hiding and step into hereness, declaring our desire for Him and knowing that, as we do, He, too, desires us—delights in all we are.
His bloodline goes beyond blood, beyond the bronze, brown, and blush of our skin. He has saved, is saving, and will always be saving us all. Amen.
Amen
He has saved us with His bloodline!
Like Lexi, I also didn’t understand the story in Mark with Jesus and the Gentile woman, so I looked it up and found a blog with an excerpt by Tim Keller (from his book Jesus the King) which helped a lot. She summed it up beautifully too in her comment. I’m so grateful to be surrounded by a community of women who are so reflective, encouraging and who make one another better.
Being from Hawai’i, it’s very common to have mixed ethnicities. I am Okinawan, Hawaiian, and Chinese. I empathized with the author’s feeling of wanting to simplify her story. “It’s complicated” becomes an easier answer to “what’s your story?” than actually telling it. There’s some parts I’m not proud of, and there’s others that I would rather keep on record. But thank God that despite knowing all of it, He still loves me anyway. Today’s YouVersion verse of the day was particularly relevant – “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7 CSB). I’m so glad we are loved by God so immensely that He was willing to send Jesus to die for us so that we could be saved. I’m so grateful that His door is always open, that He is available 24/7/365… we don’t have to wait or be put on hold! And we can tell Him just about anything.. He hears us. He knows us. We are so heard and loved… sorry for such a long post but I’m just blown away when I think about it.
@Michelle Patire: Thank you for your encouraging words to @Searching. One of the deepest desires of my heart is to feel like I belong, to feel heard and valued. And I often expect so much from others in friendships that I feel like a burden, so when they don’t respond or treat the friendship with the same amount of time, attention, or care, I feel discouraged, hurt, and rejected. It reinforces that belief pattern and past similar hurts start to resurface. It’s something I’m still working through; when I start to feel that way now, I am reminded that God always sees me, He’s always available and loves me. Everything I’ve ever wanted in a friend can be found in Jesus. It’s not a burden to Him! It brings me so much comfort to know that. And that’s why I’m so grateful to this community <3 we all belong here, no matter where we've come from.
Blessings to you ladies as this year draws to a close. Praying for your requests and for the requests that remain in your hearts. <3 God hears them too.
Yes, amen!
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His love for people brings me so much joy
Worthy is the Lamb!