We were never a hyphenated family

Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sound doctrine, strong faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:16 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “We were never a hyphenated family”

I’m feeling a little nostalgic today. Tomorrow will be the sixth anniversary of the death of my daughter, Tracy. My family has always been a big part of my life. Being a husband, father, and grandfather are three of the most important relationships in my life, and my family has been a great source of joy for me right from the beginning.

When I first met Linda and we started dating, she had been married and divorced and she had two young children, Rick and Tracy. In almost no time at all we all bonded and we quickly started feeling and acting like a family.

Tracy was this cute little five-year-old handicapped girl (cerebral palsy, seizures, and mental impairment), who was affectionate and who desperately needed a father in her life. One day I was over at their apartment. Tracy and I were sitting together on the couch, she was scrunched up next to me, and she looks up and says, “Will you be my daddy?”, and my heart just melted! At that point, even if I hadn’t been in love with Linda, I probably would have asked her to marry me anyway just so I could be Tracy’s daddy!

A couple of years later Linda and I were married, and we were living in an apartment in Virginia Beach, VA. It was one of those apartments with rows of mailboxes with the name of the family stenciled on the mailbox. On our mailbox there had to be two last names, Mersereau and Danforth, because that was Rick and Tracy’s last name. One day Rick came in, looked at me and Linda and said, “Why do there have to be two names on the mailbox? Why can’t we all have the same last name? Why can’t my last name be Mersereau too?” Well, that too just melted my heart, and we immediately began the process of adoption. Six months later there was only one name on that mailbox. Ever since then we have simply been the Mersereau family.

I have a distinct honor that very few parents can claim to have. I was chosen by my kids. They picked me, and from that moment on we were a family as much as any other family. I was their father and they were my kids – as completely and fully as any other. We decided right away that we would not be a hyphenated family. There was to be no step-son, step-daughter, step-father, or any other hyphenated title. We were just a family.

That worked out so well and was so fulfilling and satisfying for all of us, that a few years later Linda and I adopted a little baby boy from Korea, our son Tom, And the year after that we did it again and God gave us our youngest son, Adam, also from Korea. We were a family. Period. Because real family, true family, is a thing of the heart, not the genes. True family isn’t a matter of bloodline it’s a matter of love. And that’s what makes adoption such a special thing. Adoption is a choice that is motivated by love. That’s true of many human families, and it is especially true of God’s heavenly family. This is an important truth for all Christians to embrace and so tomorrow we will think about what it means to have been adopted into the family of God.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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