Revel in the knowledge that God made you different and for a unique purpose.
We all have them! We can observe and focus on the talents, skills, or abilities others have and openly or secretly wish we had them too. But wouldn’t life soon become dull or boring if we all had and could do what the other has and can do ….? And Isn’t it the differences that attracts us to each other, that encourages us to form groups? Where would be our individuality, our uniqueness, that which makes me…. me, and you… you if we all had and could do the same things in exactly the same way? Look at the world around you, the vast variety God has infused into everything? How many millions, billions or trillions of snowflakes fall every year, yet scientists say no two are alike! They all need the same conditions to form and fall, they all are cold and can melt into droplets of water and if refrozen return to their original shape. To the naked eye they all look the same but in fact each one is unique in design…. so are we! So, by all means appreciate and be joyful of the abilities of others, but make time to seek after and develop your own because there may be so much more in you than you’ve yet realised.
I recall as a pre-teen right up to my mid teen years and maybe a little beyond, that my life revolved around formal learning in school, spiritual learning at church, family life which was full of fun and laughter interspersed with necessary discipline, and informal training by my mum on housewifery skills! I use that now old fashion term because it makes me smile at what your thoughts might be as you read it; I suppose it depends on your age!
I grew up during a time when there were very clear male and female roles, I saw it lived out in our home, generally I thought it right but I also thought some things were unfair. All credit to my mum, she taught us all the same skills girls and boys alike; my dad was none too pleased that his sons were being taught with the same level of detail the basic skills of cooking, cleaning, laundry, budgeting and shopping. Her philosophy was simple; it was that as individuals they needed to be able to take care of themselves should the need arise, and as prospective husbands and fathers they needed to be able to take care of their wives, their children, and their homes when the need arose, and it would…., usually during child-bearing and sickness.
What’s this got to do with anything you might be thinking? Well…just this. Mum taught us all how to cook the same dishes in exactly the same way but generally we all prepare them as taught with slight differences as would be expected naturally, and when we cook and eat together, we often comment on how a dish tasted as though mum had prepared it! But…, I don’t recall that ever being said about one of my dishes… why was that?
Looking back…, a lot of the times when I was scolded, it was around meal preparation. It wasn’t that I couldn’t cook or cook well, it was that I liked dishes to evolve….! Even as I was being taught, I would have a desire to substitute one ingredient for another or one method for another. I wanted, no …. needed to see if it improved the dish…, I imagined I could clearly see, smell and taste the result too! So, sticking to the prescribed recipe or method was a kind of torture for me, I wanted it to be different this time round! It didn’t really matter what the task was that that mum gave me, I’d have so many ideas about ways of doing it differently and from time to time I’d do just that, it my way, and be scolded but at least I now knew! Mum enjoys and can appreciate my food today but it is often very different from what she taught me. I suppose she needed me to know the basics before I branched out and I was just too impatient to wait.
Growing up I recognised that I was different from my siblings but before I accepted that difference, that there was nothing wrong with being different and developed confidence in myself and my way of being, I’d tried really hard to be like everyone else. Eventually I realised it was an impossible task and although I wasn’t a born-again believer, it dawned on me that God had made me as I am because that’s who He wanted. I was me, differently, unique! This dawned on me when I was sixteen or so and suddenly my life began to make sense…. No wonder!
I was glad I was different, and I revelled in that knowledge, the knowledge that God made me, made us all different…. unique for a purpose, so why waste time trying to be or do like someone else instead of spending time getting to know me and what I could do.
I discovered I had an artistic bent that was always looking for a way to express itself and I found several ways to help it out. Through cooking, reading, various art and crafts activities, walking, visiting museums, theatres, eating out then experimenting with foods at home, watching the night sky, creating images in the clouds, observing the size, shape, and movement of trees, touching objects and feeling textures! I’d held back on some of these things thinking it was weird but also because it drew attention to my difference (within my family and peer group), but it didn’t matter anymore, this was me and I liked me. I was different, quirky some might say …., I prefer unique.
