Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Individuality

"I will give thanks to You,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well."
Psalm 139:14

As I sit and ponder this verse once again on a late summer morning with the sound of thunder rumbling in the heavens and rain pounding the ground and rolling down my window, I am amazed at a God who can cause the earth to cry out in such force at times and yet took such gentle care to design each of us so very uniquely. He is a God of tender mercies and One who loves infinite variety. It begs the constant question: Why do we so often play the comparison game?
We all do it at some point. I think we may find ourselves going in and out of seasons of it. To compare ourselves to ourselves is often a good thing because it can be how we measure our own personal growth but when we step one tiny toe into that territory of comparing ourselves to anyone else it can sometimes set off a whole chain of events and it is never a good idea.
Each one of us was given our very own unique, individual, personal set of traits, characteristics and qualities. We were born with a God given temperament. We were "hard wired" so to speak with a specific blue print that the Maker intended just for us. So what do we so often do? We try to be like someone else. Then what happens? It doesn't feel right. Someone else doesn't fit inside our skin. That's because only my soul was made to fit inside my skin just as your soul was made to fit inside your skin. This is why I believe we should celebrate our uniqueness and individuality and not only stop trying so hard to be like everyone or anyone else but also be very careful about passing judgement on others. Every person around us is exactly who God made them to be. They may not be functioning in their very best mode at all times but that is an issue between them and God and we must always be careful with the heart of another individual.
When it comes right down to it, we only get one chance in this life. We really do need to get it right. By that I mean we need to give it our best shot at being exactly who we are. We need to express ourselves and live fearlessly. We should have the courage to step into ourselves and fully be the person God already knows we are. We get so very caught up, or shall we say "hung up",  on minute details that in the whole scheme of things never end up mattering, that we lose sight of the big picture. I truly believe God wants more for us than that. It's right back to that whole concept of abundant living that Jesus came to give us. It's within our grasp. Not only does He want us to have salvation, He wants us to be at peace with ourselves as well. I believe wholeheartedly this is attainable. I also believe that in order to achieve it we must reach a point of being at home within our own spirit, mind and soul. He wants our hearts to be at rest.
At the end of the day the only person God really expects us to be is Ourselves.

"You can never cross the ocean
unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore."
Christopher Columbus
(1451-1506)

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900)

4 comments:

  1. It's what's so great about little children. They reveal such unique and original characteristics. We are community and we do blend when we love, AND it's nice to feel so cherished by our Creator.

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    1. Isn't that the truth Pom Pom?! Little children still have it right in their time of innocence. They are still so fresh from God that they just simply ARE who they are. What a beautiful thing.
      Yes, we do blend when we love each other. What a very dull life we would have if we had all been created the same. I'm so thankful that out Creator loves variety 😊

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  2. It's funny how true it is that we can only really be comfortable when we are being ourselves, yet it seems a part of human nature to try to be like everyone else. How interesting it is that only children or the very self aware are truly comfortable being themselves!

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    1. You are right, it is a part of human nature. I think we just want to fit in and be liked. Children haven't yet "learned" that fine art... they are still so fresh from God and just naturally ARE who they are. That's what I love best about them. All of their potential is wrapped up in them and the whole world is fresh and new and wondrous to them. They get up every day and live as themselves because they don't see any reason why they shouldn't do so.

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Thank you for taking time to chat with me ~
Your comments make me so Happy!
Have a lovely day.
Danette