Monday, March 27, 2006

Are You One of a Kind, Too?

Yesterday I posted about Hamburger Helper and how I prefer to cook...but I don't mean to tread on toes! I realize everyone has their different way about them, some better ways than others and none of us has a monopoly on the good ones (and, praise God, nor the bad ones!). I do have a knack probably for saying things that do step on toes--so sorry if they're yours! It's okay if you like serving H.H. every night of the week. I don't care!
It got me to thinking about all the ways that God made us unique, and how living where we do and in the time we occupy multiplies the ways we can express our uniqueness. One of my favorite sayings is "Yep, you're unique, just like the rest of us." It's one thing we do all have in common! There are many things about myself that I'm sure are in the one-or-two percentile of people; not all of them would be considered very favorable and being so rare, none would be considered normal. These are some ways I'm definitely on the fringe: I don't wear makeup, as most women do; I homeschool (and I don't mean cyberschool); I don't have pierced ears (well, I did pierce them at 18, but they were allergic to the earrings so I let them heal over instead); I don't like shrimp very well, and I hate crab and asparagus; I don't really care if I ever go to Hawaii, though I guess I'd take the opportunity if it were cast my way. I know there are probably lots more but I can't think of them and I'd probably bore or disgust you if I haven't already.
It shows the great creative power of God, that even from two parents He always makes their children quite unique, no matter how many they have. Even twins will have different fingerprints, if that is all. Usually they have different quirks and spots, too.
My oldest sister Vicki is blonde, thin and nervous; Donald is fit, rugged, crude, witty and boisterous; Allyson is environmental and analytical; Mark made his way through years of college to be a professor, likes to fidget, has asthma, and is balding; then my little brother Greg is crude and likes cigars. In these ways they all differ from me, I think. I haven't tried a cigar since I was three, and I don't think my tastes have changed.
Wouldn't it be interesting to know the ways that we differ, and the ways people we know differ; what makes them most unique? We could have trivia games about the people at church if we were armed with such knowledge--or maybe too much of a gossip fest...I guess the risk could hinder its implementation. It does make getting to know people interesting, especially if you have a high tolerance for quirks.
A gift for appreciating our better quirks would make loving one another easier. There's some saying somewhere about how easy a time I'd have loving people on another shore; the difficulty's the guy next door. Yeah. Can I love my neighbor in spite of the 50 or so air-soft pellets that land in our driveway and clog our drain, and in spite of the dogs that mess our yard, and in spite of his driving 30 mph into our cul-de-sac to get to the end of it, and...yeah. I guess I'd better be able to. Some of those quirks might be better than some of mine.

2 comments:

Leila said...

Connie,

Thank you for being unique :) I don't actually know how to make Hamburger Helper - but I love making my own bread (not that I've done it since being married...hmm...) - is that odd? I, too, don't really have a desire to go to Hawaii - is that odd? Anyway, thanks for sharing! I'm glad we're all so different, and God is infinitely creative.

The Resident Writer said...

Quirks are definately interesting. I've written about some of my qiurks on my blog(Seeing people as buildings, and Speeding Weenies.) In fact, a friend and I are having an issue right now as a result of a quirk of mine-playing dominoes while waiting for a wedding. Our social gatherings would be very boring without each other's quirks, and they even come out in our friends' blogs. (Like my friend who finds fascination in mundane objects, photographs them, and posts them. fickett.blogspot.com) And then there is our very good friend and source of many laughs and quizzical looks who takes photos of his speedometer, photos of himself, photos of concert tickets, photos of his new computer . . .