Recently, some friends of ours had a family emergency with one of their daughters. One of the onward-looking daughters had to witness her family member go into this crisis. She was just in turmoil. She was so upset. As she sobbed, I sobbed with her. Then I began to think about their family.

Their family has four biological children and three adopted children. The daughter I was holding was adopted into this family. I held her and wept because of her pain, even though I knew her sister was going to be just fine. My heart was broken with hers because she loved her sister so much.

As I thought about their family relationships, I realized this daughter I was holding had been adopted into this family. She wasn’t blood-related to her sister. She was adopted. Then this thought came to my mind: It’s not blood that makes a family; it’s love.

If you are struggling to fit in or be accepted by your family members, maybe you simply need to look around and redefine family.