The other day I was putting together some cute little goody bags for a retreat my hubby and I were heading up. A good retreat includes all the special little details as we all know. So I had a lot of fun coming up with some inexpensive baggies of goodness. (another post will follow)
As I was pouring out the little minty delights from their bag this lone little stranger stumbled out. At first it seemed to just dump out of the bag like all the others. It wasn't until I started picking them for their bag placement that I realized one of them was quite a different shape than the others. Was it bitten already? No, it was sealed on both sides. Somehow this little refresher managed to be created a different shape and size from all of the others.
It left me thinking...aren't we all really different? Don't we all at one time or another feel like we are painfully different from one group or another? Like that moment where we think the whole world can see we do not fit the look. How much time do we spend thinking if only we could be the same as the others who gain so much of our attention. They appear to have it all together. By watching them we find ourselves questioning our own abilities, choices and talents. We spend more time watching captivated in awe while paralyzed at the same time instead of fulfilling our intended moment.
IF ONLY...
we could grasp our own value- right now - just as we are. We were created with a purpose unique to us. Did you know there is not another person before or after us that will fill the role we were created to act out? Is it possible if we don't fulfill our purpose others will be missing out on something life changing for them? I really believe this to be true. Our ability to love well in this life has a domino effect. Love is life changing, it redeems but when we are paralyzed it has no arms to reach out.
The other concept we need to really wrap our little brains around is that the reality isn't ever that the majority of peeps out there are all the same. The reality IS if we were to pour out the lives of the people we admire to view and be used, as I did the lifesavers, it would not be one different or singled out with all the others of likeness gathered together. It would look like a bunch of individual shapes and sizes, some sealed, some not. Some obviously broken, some appearing whole. The overall ingredients would be completely different, they would not all be mint- it would be more like lifesaver fruit candies with a combination of colors and flavors. Who knows, I would guess some of the packaging would even be different. Yet still each uniquely created with an incredible purpose planned just for them. One of them wouldn't fit the need everywhere, but together they would have the ability to appeal to and fulfill the needs of many. After spending some time together they would begin to flavor one another.
Don't you wonder what is holding us back from grasping this and running towards our destiny? Let's push against fear and disbelief and sprint towards our purpose. Let us not waste another day in the comparison game, or fixing our eyes on our weaknesses. Find your strengths and start running! When that little voice starts to tell you "See, you don't fit!" Remind yourself that we are all much more the same than we are different. To our core we were created to love. Our packaging and flavors may be different, but inside we long for the same things. To be accepted and loved- just as we are.
John 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
-Simply Sublime
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