We are all created in God's image - who cares about normal?

Bountiful Blessings

 

July 8th, 2014

Good morning, my friends. I hope this note finds you well. I was writing a discussion for class last night about the Feminist theory, well, I guess that it is irrelevant. Anyway, my discussion was about societal norms. I was unable to get on my soapbox even though one foot did come off the ground. So I decided to use this as a forum for my thoughts. Aren’t you thrilled?

 

I am sure if you were a history, anthropology or sociology buff you could research what makes us all reverent to the rules and norms provided by society as a whole. Whether it is a fashion fad or a serious political idea, we follow like sheep. Now I understand that we must have rules, without them society has chaos, correct? But rules and what is normal are not the same for me. Clearly, I said me, so don’t take offense. Ok, let’s look at it a little closer. Nowadays, one hears a lot about gender types. Our class discussion was the role of a man (hard working, tough, can’t cry, don’t be a sissy, that kind of thing). Society placed those limitations on men. How was it determined? Fifty years ago, society separated people simply by the color of our skin. For those people, it was what they knew. It was the “norm”. Throughout history, people have been judged and found lacking due to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and disability. Laws have changed the “norm”. (And why was that the norm to start with??!!) Then let’s take beauty, it’s a big one… society tells us what is pretty and what is not. Look at the whole “thigh gap” thing. Girls are starving themselves and the plastic surgery business has skyrocketed from people trying to conform to society’s version of beauty. And from a personal viewpoint, I have two wonderful people in my life who do not fit the “norm”. Both are extremely intelligent, a little overweight, not interested in sports, loyal to a few close friends, sensitive to the needs of others, lovers of animals…. You get the picture. Not normal. But what society views as flaws, I see as strengths. Intelligent, caring, loyal…. But the best part is the indifference to the norm. In a world where people are bullied for being different, for not being “normal”, my two frankly do not care. They are both confident in who they are and know that there is only one person that truly matters. And that one person? Think back. When he was in his thirties, visiting town to town, city to city, did he fit the “norm”? What limitations were placed on him? Sad, isn’t it? That we tried to pigeonhole our Savior. We tried to get him to say that he was just a man. That he was normal. We were wrong. So wrong.

 

So as you head out into your day, when you run across that person who is “an odd duck” (I am so guilty of this!), take time to look deeper. Take time to see the person, not what society wants you to see. On the way in to work, I was listening to Nicole Nordeman’s Wide Eyed (totally recommend you to listen). She talks about running across a man preaching to a mailbox with a bottle of liquor in his hand and then the lady at the bookstore talking about crystals and reincarnation. As she is considering them to be odd, she reflects that they were both created in the image of God. Oily hair, fat thighs, anti-social, hypochondriac, timid, loud, purple hair, cross-eyed, math geek, crazy cat lady, gap teeth…whoever you are, whoever you meet… we are all created in the image of God. Society may say that you are not normal. Who cares?? Embrace yourself and all your uniqueness that makes you special.

 

Bible Verse for the week:

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

 

Song for the week:

Not so long ago, a man from Galilee Fed thousands with His bread and His theology And the truth He spoke, quickly became the joke of educated Self-inflated Pharisees like me And they were wide eyed in disbelief and disillusion They were tongue tied, drawn by their conclusions Would I have turned and walked away And laughed at what He had to say And casually dismissed Him as a fraud
Unaware that I was staring at the image of my God

Nicole Nordeman         Wide Eyed

Bible Fun for the week:

A	E	L	B	A	T	S	B	Y	M
D	J	O	S	E	P	H	G	A	A
H	O	E	G	O	B	D	R	M	R
R	B	I	S	J	C	Y	A	E	K
U	A	S	L	U	E	L	T	N	W
T	D	I	G	D	S	V	S	O	N
H	A	N	O	A	H	S	E	I	J
J	M	P	D	S	P	E	A	C	E

 

Word search: how many words can you find? (hint – there are 16 total)

 

Prayer for the week:

 

Lord,

Please forgive me for being judgmental. Help me to open my eyes and my heart to those around me. Allowing me to see them as children of God. You have created each and every one of us in your image, beautiful and strong. It is my ignorance and blindness that have not allowed me to see that. I humbly beg for your forgiveness and will approach this day with my blinders off, seeking those who are different and embracing them as my brother and sister in Christ. I love you, Lord. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

 

   Have a wonderful week, my friends!  Terri