City on a hill, part 2 … but what city do they see?
In an earlier post I wrote that we become a ‘city on the hill’ when we adopt trans-racially. Simply put, we look different from most families and we stand out almost anywhere in our culture. But I have encountered another way that people view our family that I never would have guessed in my naiveté. Hopefully, you can learn through my experience and have a good response prepared if you find yourself in the same situation. Laugh with me and walk though this moment in life … and please, feel free to share your ideas, I haven’t found a strong but loving response to this situation yet and would love to have one.
Our kids are intermingled by age; we birthed two, adopted two, birthed one and so on. The conversation that stumped me was when someone assumed with a very negative tone, that I had birthed them all. Let that sink in for a moment. … It would mean I had at least 4 different fathers for my children and I would be a beacon in an entirely different type of city than I had planned. Am I saying that a few people who meet us see our ‘city on the hill’ as similar to Sodom or Gomorrah?
Yes, that was it exactly. It drove me nuts trying to think it through the first time I ran into it. It hit on so many levels: my marriage, my faith, my morals, and my self-control. In my human state I was offended and wanted to ‘clarify’ things with that poor neighbor. Thankfully, God didn’t allow that and I have learned to pray through these strange moments when windows are opened into another world and I can see what sadness lurks there.
:: posted by dorothy ::