Dare To Be Different

Take note young parents! Why raise a child to be/look/act like the masses? Maybe, if you’re lucky, your child will have a mind of his own and, no matter what you do to try to conform them, it won’t get in their way of becoming a rare and valuable gem.

This post was inspired by an event that happened in town yesterday. Yes, I know, we’ve been leaving the comforts of our cabin at least once a week now. Saturday’s trip destination was to the local Co-Op for ‘adult’ chicken feed. We’ve decided waiting 5 months for our dear chicks to pop out some tasty organic eggs is just too long to wait. Our neighbor is bringing us 2 laying hens. Apparently, hens need different food than chicks.

While at the local feed store we picked up another watering jug and a couple of bags of chicken feed. Lance backed Big Red up to the loading dock. As the guy was loading the bags, Lance decided that it was such a good deal, he’d buy more. Thirteen more bags, to be precise. The initial loader guy, aka, chicken feed salesman, bailed and went back to his register. A pudgy dude took his place heaving the remaining 1/2 ton of chicken feed into our truck bed. That’s a total of 15 bags, weighing 75lbs each.

The young man loading our truck was huffing and puffing, realizing his Wheaties had failed him, yet again. He turned to Lance and asked, “How many chickens do you have?” Without batting an eye, Lance says, “Two”. I couldn’t stop giggling. Yes, we will have only 2 adult chickens, but when our chicks grow up, we’ll have a total of nine (good Lord willing and the weasels don’t find us). Lance didn’t care one bit if the guy thought he was nuts for buying 1125 pounds of feed for 2 chickens.

Some may think I idolize my husband, when, in fact, I’m in awe of him. He doesn’t try to fit in, be Joe Cool, or take the time to win a stranger’s approval. He’s not an ogre or a weirdo. He’s just a rare bird. Do you think God wants us all to be like Tom, Dick or Larry? I think God yearns for us to be like Him. A unique creation, not a cookie cutter version of our neighbor.

We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.
Evelyn Dunbar

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be normal. If they want to be different from their classmates and wear clunky black high tops or have holes the size of quarters in their ears, let ’em. As long as it’s their idea, not someone else’s. Maybe then they’ll have an easier time growing into the rare creations that God intended for them to be. It’s not too late for YOU, either. Let the gray shine through or use baking soda to wash your hair. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll be lucky enough to team up with another odd duck and move to a faraway place, like Idaho.