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Odd is Awesome

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I have a very creative, artistic seven year old daughter. She often sees her world through a totally unique lens. Several years ago, I walked into her bedroom and found that she had cut some holes in her blue bed sheets. Puzzled about why she would do this, I asked her why she cut her sheets. She replied, "The horses needed water." Although I am not really sure what she meant exactly, I could imagine in her creative mind that the blue bed sheets were a cool stream and she wanted her toy horses to have access to a drink.

I love seeing the world through her minds eye, and I try to tell her how much I appreciate her creative side, just as I try to appreciate each of my children's unique qualities. But, somewhere along the way, she started to feel it was not good to be different. One day, seemingly out of the blue, she told me, "Mommy, I am an odd ball. I don't fit in our family." I was taken aback.

I tried to protest and tell her that we all have differences and being different is what makes us special, but she seemed unconvinced. Later that day, we were looking at an illustrated encyclopedia of marine life. The variety of colors and shapes and sizes of the animals was awe inspiring. If you have ever seen a picture of a humpback whale jumping out of the ocean, or a school of brightly colored fish, you know what I mean.

So I said to my daughter, "There sure are a lot of different animals. Why do you think God made all of the creatures so different?" A big grin spread across her face, and she said "God loves oddballs." And just like that she realized that it was good to be different - it was good to be her with all of her eccentricities.

Today if you are feeling unhappy with some party of your body or comparing yourself to others and feeling as if you fall short, I want you to remember that it is your uniqueness that makes you special, and that makes the world interesting. 

If you are not convinced, that odd is awesome, check out this clip about the top ten weirdest sea creatures. You've got nothing on these guys! Or, look around at the faces of the people you see today and check out their noses. I think it very cool to see how many different kinds of noses people have. Each one is unique. Pick one thing about yourself today express thanks for that difference.
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