Hi, and thanks for joining us for this daily encouragement from our daily bread.

My name is Sochiel Dixon.

I share a pivotal moment in my spiritual journey in today's reading.

What are you?

When I walked into the ice cream shop with my five-year-old biracial son,

the man behind the counter glanced at me and stared at my child.

What are you?

His question in harsh tone triggered the all-too-familiar anger and heartache I'd experienced growing up

as a Mexican-American

who didn't fit stereotypes. Pulling Xavier closer, I turned toward my black husband as he entered

the store, with eyes narrowed, the store clerk completed our order in silence. I prayed silently for the man as my son listed the

flavors of ice cream he wanted to try. Repenting of my bitterness, I asked God to give me a spirit of

forgiveness. With my light but not white complexion, I'd been the target of similar glares

accompanying that same question over the

years. I'd struggled with insecurities and feelings of worthlessness. Until I began learning how to

embrace my identity as God's beloved daughter. The Apostle Paul declares in Galatians chapter 3 that believers in Jesus are all

children of God through faith, equally valued and beautifully diverse. We're intimately connected

and intentionally designed to work together. When God sent his son to redeem us,

we became family through his blood shed on the cross

for the forgiveness of our sins.

As God's image bearers,

our worth cannot be determined by the opinions,

...