Yoda - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
On several blogs in the past,I have explored the issue of conformity. I didn't just talk about the need of Christians to avoid conforming to the pattern and nature of this world, I looked at it in terms of personal development - for myself and for anyone else reading these pages who might benefit from my musings.
There were times when I'd told you of my exasperation at being the odd one out... about how I felt different to the people around me (even Christians), how my natural instincts were frowned on and I felt a great strain to comply with certain social expectations.
At the moment things feel very different from the stark days of last March. During the past year and a half I have found myself able (by God's grace) to close the book on a few situations that were burdening me and causing me distress. It's not to say the situations have necessarily been resolved... but God has taught me to unlearn how I react to them.
Much more important than this though, I have discovered over time that as different as I am from most around me, I have discovered individuals dotted around here and there who I share similarities with... I am nowhere near as alone as I might have once thought. I am not the lone man on the train who sees everyone partying on another train on the other side of the tracks. I have wandered down a couple of carriages and discovered plenty of parties of my own. I think my original issues may have come from living in a fairly insular community. It's been the act of branching out and meeting people from further afield over a course of a couple of years, that has gradually made me realise this. This in turn gave me the confidence to accept that I don't need to become a clone of the Christians around me if I want to fit in. I have found I can totally be myself and be accepted for all my quirks.
Naturally over time, this has led me to feel a little like a fish out of water in my own surroundings. I certainly feel a lot less bound to my town than I used to be... and I have to strongly consider whether in fact God is preparing me for something as yet unrevealed. Many years ago, whilst in prayer I had a vision of an eagle stripping it's nest... preparing it's young for flight. Could it be that God is preparing me for an entirely new phase in my walk with him?
There were times when I'd told you of my exasperation at being the odd one out... about how I felt different to the people around me (even Christians), how my natural instincts were frowned on and I felt a great strain to comply with certain social expectations.
At the moment things feel very different from the stark days of last March. During the past year and a half I have found myself able (by God's grace) to close the book on a few situations that were burdening me and causing me distress. It's not to say the situations have necessarily been resolved... but God has taught me to unlearn how I react to them.
Much more important than this though, I have discovered over time that as different as I am from most around me, I have discovered individuals dotted around here and there who I share similarities with... I am nowhere near as alone as I might have once thought. I am not the lone man on the train who sees everyone partying on another train on the other side of the tracks. I have wandered down a couple of carriages and discovered plenty of parties of my own. I think my original issues may have come from living in a fairly insular community. It's been the act of branching out and meeting people from further afield over a course of a couple of years, that has gradually made me realise this. This in turn gave me the confidence to accept that I don't need to become a clone of the Christians around me if I want to fit in. I have found I can totally be myself and be accepted for all my quirks.
Naturally over time, this has led me to feel a little like a fish out of water in my own surroundings. I certainly feel a lot less bound to my town than I used to be... and I have to strongly consider whether in fact God is preparing me for something as yet unrevealed. Many years ago, whilst in prayer I had a vision of an eagle stripping it's nest... preparing it's young for flight. Could it be that God is preparing me for an entirely new phase in my walk with him?
Everyone feels like the odd one out sometimes but also, we're all unique and God has a unique purpose for each and every one of us.
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