THANKS, UNCLE GUS!










Uncle Gus on the day he met Emily for the first time.

Kung hei fat choi!
(Congratulations & be prosperous!)

Yesterday, I pulled into our driveway and noticed a parcel on our front porch. I parked the car and picked up the package. It had made its way to my home from Hawaii where my Uncle Gus lives. Eagerly, Emily and I opened the package. Inside was a round deep chocolate brown cake topped sesame seeds wearing a red cellophane dress and a cherry hat. There was also a note:

Aloha Sal,

Every Chinese New Year we always looked forward to my mom's special dessert: Gau. Hope you and the family enjoy the treat.

Kung hei fat choi!

Love,
Uncle Gus, Auntie Caryn and Bogie (the Golden Retriever)

In honor of this special gift, family ties that are tie closer than blood lines, and the coming Chinese New Year, I'd like to share a piece I wrote about my Uncle Gus
from my most recent book:

THE BIBLE IS A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND

Growing up Asian in a mainly Caucasian community was
not a miserable and gloomy existence . . . It was this constant
whirling of East and West that spun the threads of my identity.
At the time, I felt these different threads twisted my life into knots.
Now I know that the fabric of my life is richer for them.
-Grace Lin, The Year of the Dog, p. 135-136

UNCLE GUS' RED ENVELOPES

One of my favorite people on the planet is Uncle Gus, the husband of my mom’s sister, Caryn. With dark, smooth hair, skin the lovely color of a latte and smiling almond eyes, he is at once handsome, welcoming, and jovial. His Chinese and Pilipino roots have mingled wonderfully. Seeing him induces me to breathe a soul deep, “Aloha!” which isn’t surprising as he and Caryn live on Kauai. I just hope he’ll forgive me for including him in the Her Word section of a book primarily for women!

Childhood memories of Uncle Gus are as bold and resonant as his laugh. I vividly remember him at family gatherings in Grandma’s rolling ranch of Minnesota. Each morning he’d be clad in a blue striped terry robe; inevitably eating leftover dinner rice for breakfast (often right out of the serving bowl). Though slim, his ability to eat large quantities of food earned him the nickname, “The Chunk.” As a young girl, I remember thinking the moniker inexorably funny!

Uncle Gus took pity on me – the only girl cousin in a brood of boys. He often defended me from the ‘Little Devils’ (Robby, Jimmy, and Jonny, my brother and two cousins, respectively); taking me on trips to the seminary where he worked or into town on errands. One summer, he taught me an entire repertoire of new songs which we performed, accompanied by his guitar, for the entire family. He even gave me a special T-shirt for the occasion. I felt so special, like a superstar. I’ll never forget that night and the energy he expended making me feel like an important part of a family in which I was normally a butterfly amidst a bunch of bullfrogs.

History has a way of repeating itself. Now, our sweet little adopted daughter from China finds herself trying to fit in to a family full of boys. She also finds herself trying to sort out Chinese roots after being grafted into a predominately Caucasian family tree. Uncle Gus is helping. With the same hands that cradled me, he cradles her. With the same voice that taught me to sing, he sings to her. With the same love, and grace, and honor he includes her, identifies with her from a deep Chinese-American root.

When Bry and I told Uncle Gus we were adopting, he sent us a beautiful Christmas card. It was adorned with cardinals dancing in snow covered pines, and read:

Aloha Sally and Bryan,

When my siblings and I were kids, we always looked forward to receiving our Chinese “Good Fortune” gift from my mom. Tradition required the gift to be wrapped in red paper with a special coin or bill as a token wish for health, long life, and great wealth.

Auntie Caryn and I are happy to continue the tradition with your family now that you are part of the old legacy of Chinese culture.

Merry Christmas!

Love and Hugs,
Uncle Gus

Tucked inside the card was a shiny red envelope which held a silver dollar. Once again, ‘The Chunk’ embraced, included, welcomed with Aloha-love! Because of him, our daughter feels more deeply linked to our family. And, once again, so do I. This time, our family circle has been enlarged more than I ever could’ve imagined, all because of Uncle Gus.

On a recent trip to Chinatown I was standing in line to purchase some Chinese soaps. A man behind me heard me using limited Chinese with the clerk and asked if I was Chinese. I thought of my Uncle, looked directly into the stranger’s eyes, and confidently said, “Yes!” Thanks to Uncle Gus, I’ve been grafted in to the Chinese community! And, in my heart, I’m Chinese.

An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet,
regardless of time, place, or circumstance
the thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break.
-Chinese Proverb

Jesus said, “. . . whoever welcomes a little child in my name welcomes me.”
Matthew 18:5


TIE A RED THREAD 'ROUND THE FAMILY TREE

Judaism and Christianity have something to do with each other. Judaism
and Christianity make a path. They make a path through the Bible, and through
history. -Lauren Winner, Girl Meets God, page 270

Just like Uncle Gus, the Bible is about making connections, enlarging family circles, inclusion. It has been said that there’s a red thread running through the Bible. This red thread is the blood of Christ – shed for those who need hope, a fresh start, a sense of belonging. It’s a thread linking Jews and Gentiles, Law and Grace, Old and New Testaments, History and Today. It connects, stitches together, broadens the cloth of God’s family.

It’s easy to read the Bible (especially the Old Testament), regard it as a Jewish book, and feel excluded. Scripture is written primarily by Jewish men. It’s filled with stories about Israel, promises for Israel, provisions for Israel, and laws for Israel’s people. After all, Israel is God’s chosen nation, a people beloved by God (Deuteronomy 10:15 and Exodus 19:6). And, tantamount to that, Jesus is Jewish.

The real ‘good news’ of the Bible, though, is that its red thread doesn’t end at the Red Sea. If we follow the thread, foretold by the prophets and foreshadowed in Old Testament narratives; we’ll see it weaving on the needle of a Divine Artist right through the New Testament. And, surprisingly, it continues beyond the pages of God’s book – through space and time – including anyone who desires to be tied in to the family of God. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

Just as Uncle Gus let me see my Chinese-heart; the Bible reveals that all of Christendom has Jewish roots. By God’s grace, he unites people, makes unpredictable family ties. His New Testament family is the quintessential blended family: an unlikely combination of Jews and Gentiles. “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 3:6).

Today, God continues to weave all of the children of the world together! I can’t wait to walk the streets of Heaven and see the diversity and surprising familial links woven together by the thread of God’s Love. Iranians and Pakistanis will embrace. Americans and Curds will hold hands. Wolves and lambs will live together (Isaiah 11:6). And, we’ll all be one shockingly happy, enormous, unexpected family!

It did not surprise me when I recently heard an ancient Chinese proverb about a connective red thread. The proverb tells that those destined to meet are bound by a red thread which stretches, but never breaks. I believe that God planted that proverb in the hearts of wise, ancient Chinese scholars; and that foretells the way all of God’s children are bound together in holy kinship.

Just as Uncle Gus has tied Emily and I more tightly into our family; the Bible makes it clear that Christ makes God’s people out of foreigners and aliens. He obliterates dividing walls, makes peace and, collects wandering strangers into an enormous family circle (Ephesians 2:11-22). It doesn’t matter if we’re Chinese or Caucasian, male or female, rich or poor. We can all be grafted in to God’s family tree, woven with His red thread of redemption.

APPLICATIONS

If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy
then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
Romans 11:16

1. What are your familial roots? How have they effected, enriched, deepened your faith?

2. When you imagine the family of God what do we look like? How have we grafted each other in? How can we be weavers of the red thread God began knitting with His word? Perhaps take up knitting and think about it as your needles click an inspiring rhythm.

3. When you have time to study, read the following passages as a way of tracing the red thread through scripture: Genesis 9:6, Exodus 12:13 and 24:8, Leviticus 17:11, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, Revelation 5:9. (You may also want to use your concordance to do a word study on: blood, red, crimson, scarlet. Journal about what you discover.)

In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will
bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.
Isaiah 27:6