Is My Culture the Potter and My Religious World View the Clay?

My mother always told me that parents are the most important thing in a child’s life. Good, ethical mother and father will mold and shape a child’s belief, moral, and life in general.

However, I have to disagree with my mother by saying that I believe there is someone who is of greater importance than my parents. My true potter is my wonderful, almighty God.

I was born in a Chinese family living in Korea who believed that exposing your tears and weaknesses to others was a dangerous and foolish thing because other people can easily betray you. Also, being atheists, all of my family believed that money was valuable.

Ironically, my parents sent me to be educated in a Christian international school called Taejon Christian International School. Through this school, I became, according to my family, “Americanized.” I believed that being vulnerable was being human and that it was perfectly alright to trust people and be honest to each other. These beliefs that I had were incomprehensible to my parents.

However, what was more incomprehensible and shocking to my parents was my discovery of God. When I was younger, I didn’t really understand or appreciate what being a Christian really meant. However, as I grew older and more mature, I came to realize how much God had to sacrifice and how much He loved us. I also learned that being a Christian was more than simply declaring “I am a Christian.” Understanding these things, in 9^th grade, I truly accepted God to be my Savior, my Father, and the potter of my life.

After that, God became everything in my life. Every time I meet a sister or brother in Christ, I am overjoyed, and if I hear someone has converted into a Christian, I am ecstatic. I converse with my Dad everyday with everything and trust Him with absolutely everything. I try very hard to love and forgive others and treat them the way I would want to be treated. My very morals and beliefs are from His word: the Bible. Most of all, I am completely, utterly, and absolutely in love with my amazing Dad. I truly believe with all my heart that God has truly shaped my life and view. He has become the essence of who I am.

Now, don’t get me wrong. My parents are still extremely important in my life. I continue to love them with every fiber of my being. However, my parents and their beliefs did not shape me. They were not my potter.

So, who am I? I am Chinese who lives in Korea but is most comfortable in an American society. I believe families are important but that God is the most important. I believe in vulnerability and trust but know all about betrayal and hurt. I have a biological older brother as well as many sisters and brothers in Christ. I am a daughter of my incredible Father and a daughter of my wonderful mother and father, who are not part of my spiritual family.

I am truly an indefinable girl.