In the eyes of a child

Recently our Zoelle, who intellectually is more 5 than 3, started declaring to us about Xiomara: "She's brown; I'm white". My first thought was to panic. I did not want race to be an issue within our own immediate family. I mean afterall, Xiomara will have to deal with the race issue within our extended family, friends, church family, etc. No matter how right or wrong it is, people will treat her differently because of the color of her skin. Thus when Zoelle declared those differences, I panicked. At least on the inside. On the outside, I calmly looked to Chris. I think we both had the same thought from God, "She's right". So we turned to her and said, "You're right Zoelle. God made Xiomara brown and you white". Do you know what gets me and brings a smile to my face? She accepted that answer. She didn't care about the differences. She hasn't treated her any differently since realizing that they are different.

It just is what it is. A fact.

Perhaps we could all learn from that little fact. Me included. Skin color is just that: the color of one's skin. It doesn't change who we are and what we do. It's what's on the inside that matters. As the weeks have gone by and Zoelle has declared lots of skin colors as we go to the grocery store, Target, and church, we have come to acknowledge the obvious and remind her that it's what on the inside that counts. What does her heart look like? What does mine? What does yours?

So I encourage you, acknowledge the obvious in your life, in your children's life. Maybe if we all acknowledged the obvious rather than trying to ignore the color of our skin or those around us for fear of being labeled racist, race would be a lot less of an issue.

Instead the only issue would be what do our hearts looks like on the inside. After all we are all children of God.



Whether adopted, black, white, or brown. It doesn't matter in the eyes of God. Or in mine. How about yours?