Growing Up with 36 Siblings: Lessons on Family and Faith

When people hear that I grew up in a family with 37 adopted children, their first reaction is usually a wide-eyed, “Wait, did you say thirty-seven?” Yes, you read that right. My parents opened their home and hearts to children from all walks of life, each with their own story, challenges, and gifts.

Growing up in such a unique household was anything but ordinary. Dinner time was a symphony of voices, laughter, and sometimes chaos. Birthdays felt like community events. And there was never a shortage of stories to tell or lessons to learn.

Lesson 1: Family Is More Than Blood

Being adopted from Ukraine, I quickly learned that family isn’t just defined by DNA. Family is built on love, sacrifice, and commitment. My siblings and I didn’t all look alike, sound alike, or even think alike, but we shared the same roof, the same table, and the same love that bound us together.

Lesson 2: Strength Is Found in Struggle

Many of us carried physical, emotional, or developmental challenges. That meant patience was not optional, it was essential. Watching my siblings overcome obstacles inspired me daily. Their resilience taught me that struggle can refine us, not define us.

Lesson 3: Faith Anchors Everything

With a household so large, there were bound to be storms, financial, emotional, spiritual. What held us together was faith. My parents modeled what it meant to trust God in both abundance and scarcity. Their example planted seeds in me that later shaped my writing and the themes I return to again and again: forgiveness, hope, and redemption.

Lesson 4: Stories Connect Us

Growing up in such a diverse family meant endless stories. Some were heartbreaking, others filled with joy. Listening to my siblings share their journeys gave me a love for storytelling. Each life was a reminder that behind every face is a story worth telling.

Looking back, I wouldn’t trade my childhood for anything. It wasn’t always easy, but it was rich in lessons that continue to shape me as a writer and a person of faith.My family taught me that love expands when you give it away, that trials can grow courage, and that faith makes the impossible possible.So when I write, whether it’s Waterlily, Utah or the stories still waiting to be told, I draw from those lessons. Because at the end of the day, every story I tell is about family, faith, and the hope that binds us all together

.— Luke Briggs