by Jennifer Greene-Sullivan
Families are often built in unexpected ways.
Some arrive through birth. Some arrive through marriage. Some arrive through adoption. Others arrive through circumstances that only make sense when viewed years later through the lens of God’s faithfulness.
This week, I found myself reflecting on one of those stories as I read a college essay written by my daughter, Kasey.
As I read her words, I realized she remembered details I had almost forgotten. She wrote about meeting me when she was an eighth-grade student in my remedial English class. At the time, neither of us had any idea that our lives would one day become intertwined. She became friends with my daughter, Anya, and even after my teaching contract ended, their friendship continued. Years later, after high school graduation and her eighteenth birthday, Kasey found herself without a place to call home. Everything she owned fit inside a large black garbage bag. With nowhere else to go, she called Anya.
When Anya explained the situation to Chris and me, our response was simple.
“Go get her.”
At the time, I thought we were opening our home.
God was building a family.
The truth is that I did not know what the future would hold. I did not know there would be an adult adoption. I did not know there would be holidays, family photographs, inside jokes, celebrations, tears, victories, and ordinary Tuesday nights that would slowly weave our lives together.
I certainly did not know that one day I would read a college essay and see our story through my daughter’s eyes.
Yet God knew.
He always knows.
Looking back, I can see His fingerprints everywhere. He was not simply providing a home for Kasey. He was building something for all of us. He was teaching us that family is about far more than shared DNA. Family is built through love, commitment, sacrifice, forgiveness, and showing up for one another day after day.
The years that followed were not always easy. Few families can claim that. We walked through heartache, uncertainty, prodigal seasons, prayers that seemed unanswered, and circumstances beyond our control. Yet through every challenge, the Lord remained faithful.
He was building us.
Today, Kasey is living independently, working as a 911 dispatcher, attending technical school, and creating a life she can be proud of. Those accomplishments are worth celebrating, but they are not what moves me most.
What moves me is remembering the young woman who once carried everything she owned in a garbage bag and comparing her to the woman she has become.
Only God can write a story like that.
As I thought about her essay, I realized something else. We often celebrate the big moments—the adoption papers, the graduations, the promotions, and the milestones. Yet families are rarely built in a single moment.
They are built one day at a time: one conversation, one prayer, one meal around the table, one act of obedience, one act of love. That is how God builds families; that is how He built ours.
Perhaps that is why one of my favorite names for Jesus is Waymaker. Long before any of us understood what He was doing, He was creating a path we could not see. He was connecting lives, redeeming pain, and writing a story far greater than anything we could have imagined.
The older I become, the more convinced I am that God’s greatest miracles are often people. They are the relationships He places in our lives, the families He creates, and the redemption stories He writes when we simply trust Him enough to take the next step.
When I look at Kasey today, I see far more than a daughter.
I see a testimony.
I see grace.
I see redemption.
I see the faithfulness of God.
Most importantly, I see one more reminder that when Jesus is building something, it is always worth the wait.
Scriptural Focus
Psalm 68:6 (ESV)
“God settles the solitary in a home…”
Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Reflection
God often builds families in ways we never expect. Whether through birth, adoption, friendship, or shared trials, He weaves lives together according to His perfect plan. Looking back allows us to see His fingerprints on moments that once seemed ordinary.
Challenge
Think about someone God has placed in your life unexpectedly. Thank Him for the role they have played in your story and consider reaching out to encourage them this week.
Prayer
Father,
Thank You for the people You have brought into our lives and for the families You build through Your grace. Help us recognize Your hand at work even when we cannot yet see the finished picture. Thank You for redemption, restoration, and the gift of belonging. May our homes reflect Your love and our lives testify to Your faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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The Aging English Major 