"I will praise you, for I am ... wonderfully made."
Psalm 39:14b
Have you ever noticed how many people are frustrated with life because of its demands to conform? Perhaps some of us just need permission to be ourselves.
In his book, "The Seasons of Life," author Chuck Swindoll relates a story which can help us to understand the dilemma of being ourselves.
He writes, "Once upon a time, the animals decided they should do something meaningful to meet the problems of the new world. So they organized a school. They adopted an activity curriculum of running, climbing, swimming and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subÂjects. The duck was excellent in swimming — in fact, better than his instructor. But he made only passing grades in flying and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to drop swimming and stay after school to practice running. This caused his webbed feet to be badly worn, so that he was only average in swimming. But average was quite acceptable, so nobody worried about that — except the duck.
"The rabbit started at the top of his class in running but developed a nervous twitch in his leg muscles because of so much make-up work in swimming.
"The squirrel was excellent in climbing, but he encounÂtered constant frustration in flying class because his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of from the treetop down. He developed 'charlie horses' from overexertion, and so only got a 'C' in climbing and a 'D' in running.
The eagle was a problem child and was severely disciÂplined for being a non-conformist. In climbing classes he beat all the others to the top of the tree but insisted on using his own way to get there."
Get the picture? Like the animals in our story, each of us has his or her own set of capabilities in which we will naturally excel — unless it is expected or forced to fill a mold that doesn't fit. When that happens, a sense of frustration, discouragement and guilt can cause mediocrity or deÂfeat within a person's life.
A duck is a duck. It is built to swim, not to run or fly and certainly not to climb. A squirrel is a squirrel and only that. To move it out of its forte — climbing — and then expect it to swim or fly will drive a squirrel "nuts." Eagles are beautiful creatures in the air but not in a foot race. The rabbit will win every time unless, of course, the eagle gets hungry.
I am not advocating decadence but an attitude of respect and dignity for the God-created differences among us. God has not made us all the same. He never intended to. It was he who planned and designed our differences, unique capabilities and variations. God has given you a certain mixture that makes you unique. No mixture is insignificant. That mix pleases him completely.
Nobody else is exactly like you. When you operate in the sphere of your capabilities, you will experience satisfaction. When others operate in their realm, balance, unity and harmony occur.
Take heart. If God made you a duck, swim like mad, and don't get flustered because you wobble when you run or flap instead of fly. Furthermore, if you're an eagle, stop expecting squirÂrels to soar in the heavens or rabbits to build the same kind of nests you do.
As always, see you next week and have a great day.
Rev. Carl S. Mesiti is pastor of Niedringhaus United Methodist Church in Granite City.
