I was struck with how profound this statement is when I came across it recently:
They laugh at me because I am different, but I laugh at them because they are all the same — Author Unknown
Differences leave a mark on our lives, especially if we are made fun of. But what kind of mark they leave is up to us. They can warp us or they can empower us.
So often we are ashamed of our differences. For many who have lived with eyes apart since childhood, the torturing memories of teasing they endured as children still haunt them. Yet those who tease have differences also. We are not validated by being like everyone else. We are special because we are one of a kind. I’m reminded of a poem*:
You are the one
who put me together
inside my mother’s body,
and I praise you
because of
the wonderful way
you created me.
Everything you do is marvelous!
Of this I have no doubt.
Nothing about me
is hidden from you!
I was secretly woven together
deep in the earth below,
but with your own eyes
you saw
my body being formed.
Even before I was born,
you had written in your book
everything I would do.
When no one else understands our differences, the one who created us does. He likes us just the way we are.
*Psalm 139 from the Christian Bible
