"Aunt LeAnne, is Charlie Korean?" the 4 year old asked after she kissed the baby's tiny toes.
I looked over at the blue-eyed, blonde-haired infant. Kendra was now kissing his cheek.
"No, sweetie, he's not Korean."
"Oh," she said, slightly puzzled. And, without another word, she skipped away to see her cousins.
In that moment, it was clear--she gets it! She totally, totally gets it.
Here was a girl who had no concept of race. No understanding of nationalities. No opinions on foster children or foster families. No thoughts on domestic versus international adoption.
But what did she understand? Some children don't have families. And those children need someone who will love and care for them.
On her mom's side of the family, her aunt, uncle, and cousins were waiting to bring their newest addition--a sweet, precious baby boy--home from Korea. And on her dad's side, her aunt, uncle and cousins had just brought home their newest addition--a sweet, precious baby boy--who was their most recent foster placement.
As I look back to that day nearly two years ago, I realize that Kendra never asked why we sometimes had "extra" kids and why we sometimes had only "our" kids. Another time, she was thrilled to have a playmate her age--his race, how he came to be "in the system", and why were we letting him live with us--never, ever mattered.
Kendra had taken the word "Korean" and determined it wasn't an ethnic description of her cousin, but represented a simple fact: children without families need families.
As Kendra gets older, I know she will begin to see that life isn't quite that simple. But, with her growth will come true empathy. Her parents have lovingly embraced the adoption and foster paths of their siblings, and have created a wonderful foundation of acceptance for their young daughter. I cannot wait to see how God uses the little girl with the open heart.
