One of the many reasons I enjoy working at my school is the diverse group of students I interact with each day. As I walk through the halls, meet with my classes, coach my team, or just sit in the lunchroom I see students who represent almost every corner of our planet. Many of these students are from families who sacrificed a great amount to move to the United States and some were born in another country and have come to our school with little knowledge of the English language. There are others who were adopted from far away countries by an American family and each of these has an amazing story. I am always interested in the stories of where they are from and what has lead them to where they now live.
Last semester I had a young Asian girl in one of my classes who has a uniquely American last name. From the first day of the semester I wanted to know her story. This young lady is a very small person who is less than five feet tall and has a very bashful but kind personality. It was evident from the first time I spoke with her that her family, regardless of where they are from, has done an excellent job of raising her to be a confident and kind person. One day, while sitting in church, I noticed this girl sitting with an American family that I see in church each Sunday but had never noticed my student as being part of their family. The father of this family is a very large man who stands well over six feet and four inches tall. When I saw my student with this family I immediately noticed the height difference between her and, who I would soon find out, her dad. After the church service I walked over to the family, introduced myself as their daughter’s teacher, and talked for a few minutes with the dad. A few days later at school I asked my student about her family and she quickly became less shy and told me all about the family that traveled to China when she was only eight weeks old to adopt her. She told me about the pictures she has at home of her enormous dad walking around the streets of Beijing with her in his arms. She told me about the special relationship she has always had with her dad and joked that their size difference had remained about the same since those first few days together in China. I told her that I could tell she has a special relationship with her dad and that her story was amazing. She said to me, “It’s cool to know that someone would come to the other side of the earth to find me”. I have heard families talk about traveling across the world to adopt a child from another country but I had never heard a child be so thankful that a family, especially her dad, would come so far to find her. I realized that she not only sees this large man as her dad but as a hero that traveled across the planet to find her as a baby girl. They obviously have a bond that was formed because of the sacrifice of a man for a little girl.
I have thought about her comment since that day and she soon become one of my all-time favorite students. Her comment also made me think about our Heavenly Father who waits patiently for us, gently pulls at our heart to accept Him, and will search for us to the ends of the earth. And just like this young girl’s father, when He makes us one of His own, He will never let us go.
Chad
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