Feeling Different

My friend Joyce recently sent me a link to a video, and it got me thinking about feeling "different." Both of my kids are away at college now and classes are starting and they are settling into new routines. They are now both at big universities so they are transitioning, and I expect feeling a little bit overwhelmed and insecure.

And DIFFERENT. No longer are they in schools with their friends from kindergarten and Little League. Their living arrangements are different. Their schools are different. Their classes are different. Their friends are different. Their schedules are different. EVERYTHING is different now.

I can remember being away at college for the first time and feeling totally overwhelmed. Everywhere I looked I saw students who were smart and talented, and I compared myself to see how I measured up. And it didn't look good... I had been smart enough and talented enough to GET there, but was I smart enough and talented enough to STAY there??

The short answer to the question is "YES." I was smart and talented enough to not only stay there but to graduate, become gainfully employed, and to the great delight of my parents, become self-sufficient! But it was a struggle, and it was as much a struggle with my self as it was my course load. The lessons I learned during that time have taught me a lot about life in general.

Everywhere we look we see people who are smart and talented and seem to "have it all together," whatever THAT means. We see them leading seemingly perfect lives, and we want to have perfect lives too. So we wear a smile and hide our struggles because we want to blend in with everybody else... all of those smart and talented people without problems and issues and insecurities.

But the truth of the matter is that EVERYBODY has problems and issues and insecurities - we just don't ever TELL ANYBODY about them! We keep it all bottled up inside of us, trying to LOOK like we have it all together but knowing full-well that we DON'T. And we feel isolated... and lonely... and afraid to let people too close because then they'll see that we're different...

The happy news is that God celebrates the fact that we're all different! He knows the struggles and issues we face and He wants to teach us and help us work through them. Those things are preparing us for the plans He has for each of us in our different experiences and different jobs and different circles of influence that have been hand-picked and tailor-made for EACH of us by the Creator of the universe!!

Isn't that a RELIEF?? Y'all, I hope that statement sets somebody FREE!! God PLANNED for each of us to be different and He doesn't WANT us to be like anybody else except Jesus!! All He wants is for me to be is the best ME I can be, and for you to be the best YOU you can be!

Thanks, Joyce. This one's for you :)



This video can be viewed on YouTube, scutter4christ