Honoring Your Family While Creating Something New

There are moments in life when you feel caught between worlds one shaped by the heritage that birthed you, and the other molded by the culture that surrounds you. You try to fit in, to find belonging, but deep down there’s a longing to hold onto something ancient… something sacred.

I know this feeling all too well. Growing up in Montreal, I lived in a world that felt vastly different from the one my parents came from. I remember seasons when I wished I could be someone else when being Chinese felt like a burden rather than a blessing. I didn’t yet understand the beauty of my roots, the depth of my ancestors’ stories, or the quiet strength that flowed through their endurance.

But as time passed, and the Spirit of God began to shape my identity from the inside out, I began to see the divine artistry in who I am. The truth is God does not waste heritage. He plants us in families, cultures, and nations on purpose. Acts 17:26 reminds us that “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.”

My parents’ desire to assimilate was their way of surviving, protecting, and building a life in a world that didn’t always understand them. They did what they had to do but within that, they also carried the heartbeat of our people, the memory of where we came from.

Now, as a mother and wife, I understand that tension even more deeply. KNg Dynasty was birthed not only from the union of two families the Ng and the Knauls but from two worlds meeting in divine purpose. It is the story of East meeting West, of faith meeting culture, of legacy being reborn through love.

In our home, I am learning to weave together the threads of my Chinese heritage and my husband’s Black culture both rich, resilient, and royal in their own ways. It’s not always easy to explain or to be understood in a Western world that often celebrates assimilation over authenticity. But I’ve learned that to honor your family is not to stay the same it’s to carry their values into the new thing God is doing.

When I teach my daughter about where she comes from, I’m not just teaching her history. I’m teaching her honor. I’m showing her that God designed every part of her story intentionally. I’m teaching her that identity is not about choosing one culture over another; it’s about seeing God’s fingerprint in both.

In this journey, I’ve come to see that KNg Dynasty is more than a brand, it’s a calling. It’s a declaration that we can build something new while honoring what has been. That we can merge heritage and purpose. That our identity in Christ doesn’t erase who we are it fulfills it.

So to those who feel “in-between,” know this: you are not lost between worlds you are the bridge God is building. Through you, generations will remember who they are and whose they are.

Because the Kingdom of God is not colorless or cultureless it is a tapestry of stories, languages, and legacies, all woven together under one name: Jesus.