This is beautiful. Thank you for being so vulerable and sharing this - it blessed me! It is so true that God's grace has been enough, is still enough, and will be enough even when we can't connect with it due to lies and distractions. Blessings to you, may God's grace reach your heart, soul, and mind.
Thanks for letting me know. It's always so sweet to hear your words and experiences have impacted someone else. You're so right...His grace is always enough. <3
“I’m a beautiful blend of my mom and dad, and so are you!” - Torrie, I loved this! As an adoptee with English parents and a (proudly) Italian birth father and English birth mother, I’ve felt all the guilt about feeling, sometimes alternately, more closely drawn/relating to, feeling more one or the other culture of heritage (of my birth parents), and also my then guilty for feeling either for fear of betraying somehow my beloved, fully English mum and dad. This is so beautiful and I resonate with your words here, as before, in this way. Thank you for sharing them, and prayers for a blessed sabbatical- may the Lord lead your next steps! 🙏🏻💖
Thanks for sharing your struggle. I believe when we share our experiences, we let others know they’re not alone! Do you still wrestle or have you found a balance that works for you? It’s a journey for sure!
Thank you! I look forward to what God has in store during my pause.
I enjoyed reading this. It made me think about something very important - that you can connect to both cultures but to various degrees. We tend to get the message that we need to connect to both equally but sometimes we connect to one culture more than another and in different contexts.
You also mentioned language - I think we are sometimes judged on belonging to one group based on whether we speak or how well we speak a language. I feel that is also judged by speaking both equally well while nuance is ignored.
I agree on both points. We don’t really get the message that we can embrace both (or more) cultures differently. Instead we’ve learned to be chameleons, blending in to the our current environment / culture. But in turn, we never learn who WE truly are, just who others expect us to be.
The language piece is huge. Love the points you brought out!
Torrie, I am on vacation this week back on Cape Cod where we raised our family, so this is just a quick note, but I always appreciate your writing. You help broaden my thinking to issues I don’t often consider. Bless you friend.
Hi JJU. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I totally agree. Learning to embrace our ethnicity and culture is a process. The journey doesn't look the same for everyone, nor should it. I've found the same to be true - you don't have to embrace all aspects of your culture. It's not all or nothing. We get to pick and choose what fits us personally...and that can change over time.
This is beautiful. Thank you for being so vulerable and sharing this - it blessed me! It is so true that God's grace has been enough, is still enough, and will be enough even when we can't connect with it due to lies and distractions. Blessings to you, may God's grace reach your heart, soul, and mind.
Thanks for letting me know. It's always so sweet to hear your words and experiences have impacted someone else. You're so right...His grace is always enough. <3
“I’m a beautiful blend of my mom and dad, and so are you!” - Torrie, I loved this! As an adoptee with English parents and a (proudly) Italian birth father and English birth mother, I’ve felt all the guilt about feeling, sometimes alternately, more closely drawn/relating to, feeling more one or the other culture of heritage (of my birth parents), and also my then guilty for feeling either for fear of betraying somehow my beloved, fully English mum and dad. This is so beautiful and I resonate with your words here, as before, in this way. Thank you for sharing them, and prayers for a blessed sabbatical- may the Lord lead your next steps! 🙏🏻💖
Thanks for sharing your struggle. I believe when we share our experiences, we let others know they’re not alone! Do you still wrestle or have you found a balance that works for you? It’s a journey for sure!
Thank you! I look forward to what God has in store during my pause.
I enjoyed reading this. It made me think about something very important - that you can connect to both cultures but to various degrees. We tend to get the message that we need to connect to both equally but sometimes we connect to one culture more than another and in different contexts.
You also mentioned language - I think we are sometimes judged on belonging to one group based on whether we speak or how well we speak a language. I feel that is also judged by speaking both equally well while nuance is ignored.
I agree on both points. We don’t really get the message that we can embrace both (or more) cultures differently. Instead we’ve learned to be chameleons, blending in to the our current environment / culture. But in turn, we never learn who WE truly are, just who others expect us to be.
The language piece is huge. Love the points you brought out!
Torrie, I am on vacation this week back on Cape Cod where we raised our family, so this is just a quick note, but I always appreciate your writing. You help broaden my thinking to issues I don’t often consider. Bless you friend.
I saw that on FB! How fun!! Enjoy your vacation.
You’re so sweet. Thanks for reading and being open to a different narrative. Appreciate you!
Hi JJU. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I totally agree. Learning to embrace our ethnicity and culture is a process. The journey doesn't look the same for everyone, nor should it. I've found the same to be true - you don't have to embrace all aspects of your culture. It's not all or nothing. We get to pick and choose what fits us personally...and that can change over time.
So glad you're here friend!