Being a Bridge

In the summer of 2006 when I was in Manila, Philippines, I received a clear calling from God that I was to be a bridge. A bridge between races, cultures, economic classes, and so on. This calling was just a continuation of the ethnic identity journey I have been on. A few years back, my staff worker and mentor for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship helped me begin this journey of learning to embrace all of who I am ethnically. If I only embrace the white side of me, then I am denying the Latina side of me. And if I only embrace the Latina side of me, I deny the white side. So it’s not either/or it’s and/both. Being bi-racial and trying to embrace all of who I am can be a difficult task. I have to see the value, strengths, and weaknesses of both sides. Unless I’m around other bi-racial folk of my same make up, I really don’t fully fit it with either crowd.

There were many things I liked about Obama’s speech on “A More Perfect Union”, which you can listen to here. But I think what I really liked is seeing someone who is bi-racial trying to navigate the issue. I haven’t seen to many examples of people being a bridge especially through the nature of their birth. My roommate is quite aware of this and has advocated for us bi-racial folk in this way, but I don’t like when people refer to Obama as only black. He’s not just black. He’s not just white. He’s both. It’s difficult to live in that tension sometimes. But I’m glad God made me the way I am. I embody reconciliation. The task is in living it out daily. Being a bridge daily. And I’m thankful for others who help lead the way!