Somewhere along the way through time, the notion has been planted in young minds that being the same is the way to go. This pressure of uniformity stays with many of us as an adult. It can lead to a life of feeling lonely when we are not comfortable in our own skin. Unsure of who to follow, we change the way we look, the way we act, and the way we think just to (hopefully) be accepted. If you are ‘different’, you are labeled an outsider and you do not belong. The media or whoever spread this thought is dead wrong. We are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)→ each and every individual. And with our individual differences, we can serve God and make the body of Christ a beautiful thing to behold and a wonderful place to belong.
I am sharing a quote written by author Jan Karon who wrote this on her Facebook page a few years ago. ‘Comparison issues’ and feelings of self-consciousnesses can plague us for years. It is exhausting mentally and spiritually for that is not the way God would have us see ourselves. I am encouraged by the following quote to be more God-conscious, not self-conscious. I am motivated to keep complimenting (part of January’s Grace Goals) others because I never know just how much that person might have needed reassurance and support on a particular day.
From Jan Karon- January 4, 2016:
“For our readers who did not grow up in the South: a generous portion of okra or beans or collards or salad greens, etc, is called a “mess”.
I was always different. I never felt that I fit in anywhere. Some of you know that feeling. Usually, I felt too dumb or too smart, too thin or too fat, too short or (at a mere 5’3” I never felt too tall). I just couldn’t find a way to identify whatever myself might really be.
When I was seven or eight years old, my grandmother, Miss Fannie, gave me a bemused look and said, “Janice, you’re different.” There was a long pause; my very life seemed to hang suspended. “And,” she said, “that’s a good thing.”
It took decades for me to understand and believe that. And here’s an experience that helped.
I was getting ready to fry okra, and while washing it, came across a green bean that had somehow landed in that mess of okra. I cut the green bean in three or four pieces and coated them with batter, and every now and then, in that melange of fried okra, I’d come across a delicious bit of green bean.
What a difference.
I believe it takes a whole mess of okra to make one green bean so full of surprise.
God didn’t make you like everybody else, of course. He made you like your very own self. Something special. Something different.
If you’re still trying to figure out what that wonderful difference is, here’s the best way, in my opinion, to find out.
Say, “God, you made me and you know what you made me to be. What is it? Show me. I want to know. Because whatever you made me to be, that’s exactly what I want to be. I’m excited! Thank you.”
places and I wonder how many of those years I used wishing to be somewhere else. In a bigger house. In a better neighborhood. In a different church. In another climate. One can wish away a life without even realizing it. No matter my circumstances, how I live is important. When I choose to live by faith because I am loved, I am redeemed, and I am safe, it changes how I see. “If Satan can keep my eyes from the Word, my eyesight is too poor to read light-to fill with light…Without God’s Word as a lens, the world warps” (Ann Voskamp, 
On the weekends, I try to make enough breakfast on Saturday to be Sunday morning breakfast as well. I double the recipe for waffles so that Sunday morning, all we need to do is cook sausage links and reheat the waffles. Last Saturday, I was on a time crunch because my dad and I had wanted to go to WalMart before the crazy traffic started. I asked my 22-year-old son to help finish making the waffles so I could shower and get dressed before breakfast. He was willing to help but had never manned a waffle iron before. I showed him about how much batter to put in the machine and told him to watch the light. I instructed that when the light clicked off, the waffle should be done. “Easy enough”, I thought, and left it to his available hands. After I showered, I called down to him from upstairs to check how he was doing. “I’m learning”, he replied. When I was dressed and ready, I walked in the kitchen to a mess on the kitchen counter. Batter was spilled as he had put too much batter in the waffle iron several times. Not only was it over the sides of the waffle iron, but also on the counter. However, he had successfully cooked all of the batter for waffles and had started working on cleaning up everything.
colors when they were on sale last month! That is, all except the top left corner. The red mums were the very first ones I bought a few years ago. I did not know much about perennials versus annuals, so when I noticed leaves coming back in the spring, it was quite a surprise for me. I have learned a few things since then and know that I love to see last year’s plants come back to life after a cold season.
