Warts and All

We spent a good part of the weekend at the musical #1 and #2 were in, Honk Jr. The performances were great and everything theater should be for kids in grades 3-9; however, the message within the story is something I hope everyone, not just the kids, felt inspired by.

It was the story of the "ugly duckling". Born different than her brothers and sisters and rejected by everyone in the barnyard besides her mother and the cats (who are only interested in eating her) she ends up lost.

Okay, stick with me here because almost every single person who is reading this right now can relate in some way to this.

The story would have had an all together different ending if the ugly duckling had plastic surgery to make herself look more like the other ducklings, or maybe if she ran out to buy a pair of Ugg boots and a Coach purse to fit in better. Or, we could have gone for the tragic ending where she developed an eating disorder or drowned her sorrows in a 6-pack to help ease the emotional pain. Ouch. I'm not even sure where I'm going with this.....

I think this thought process, this journey of embracing what is different in each one of us is a good one. Honk Jr. really tackles the issue of caring too much about what other people think about us. A few "animals" saw her for who she really was and helped her to see herself that way, too. But, again, we must never find our degree of happiness based on what people say about us, even it it is positive. My favorite song in the entire show went something like this....

Out there
Someone's gonna love you
Someone's gonna love you
Warts and all
They're gonna love you warts and all

And, you know what? Someone out there does love me warts and all. In fact, He laid down His life for me. To feel inadequate is to reject the sacrifice that Christ made for me. How many of us just decide it is easier to fit in with whatever the current culture is rather than be comfortable and content with the way God made us? I don't want to live in the place of rejection and isolation because of some age/physical/financial difference that is not the "norm" of whoever I happen to be with that day. Man, that can be exhausting trying to fit into someone else's mold.

Now, I'm not into being socially backward and completely un-approachable! No, that's not what I'm saying! I could really go on and on with this whole "being different" topic. But, I am beginning to ramble and Miss Never Taking Life Too Serious is starting to go a little deep....

Just remember that God made each one of us beautiful. No matter what we see in the mirror, He loves us warts and alllll........