Normal-- Or Amazing?

If you are always trying to be normal,

You will never know how amazing you can be.

Maya Angelou

            Since the dawn of time, it seems, society has sets standards by which people are expected live. These standards are usually physical, psychological and economical. They are the criteria each culture values as most common and most beneficial for its continuance and prosperity. Unfortunately, standards or ‘norms’ are simply boxes or labels society uses to sort individuals into categories; “within the norm” or “outside the norm.”

            What if you don’t fit into the ‘norm’? Some countries ‘discard’ children born with any type of physical or psychological handicap. They are either abandoned or allowed to die through lack of care. Fortunately, these countries are in the minority.

            Another word for normal is average. The average man or woman… The average age…. The average home income…. Average is just that. Right in the middle, smack dab in the ‘average’ our culture has dictated ought to be the standard way of living, acting or thinking.

            Fortunately, our country is starting to recognize that individuals with special needs often have a lot to contribute to society. Sometimes thinking outside the box can yield amazing results. What would our world be like without Mozart, Einstein, Steven Spielberg (thought to have a mild form of autism and dyslexia), Mohammed Ali and others who struggle with learning or behavioral disorders? Sometimes the norm is not necessarily the standard to which we ought to encourage our children to strive.

I think our society strives too hard to try to conform our children to the molds we have set, trying to fit square pegs into round holes. We chip at the corners, striving to turn that square peg into something it was not originally designed to be. Then again, why are we attempting such a feat when we ought to be encouraging our children to ‘be the best you can be?’

            It’s okay to be different. It’s okay to have special needs. It’s okay to think differently. It’s okay to stand out in the crowd. It’s okay to be unique.

            In his book, Shaken, Tim Tebow states “When we strive to be just like everyone else, we never have a chance to be special. When you start to embrace and even celebrate how special and different God made you, you can begin to do extraordinary things. You can begin to see yourself through His eyes. You can begin to live in the uniqueness with which you were created. You can be motivated and inspired to go against the grain.” (1)

            This is the essence of celebrating your uniqueness—recognizing you were created by God, unique unto yourself and useful for His purpose. Don’t be afraid to step out from the crowd and use your uniqueness to shine for Christ. Inspire others, encourage those who are also struggling with their handicaps and show grace to the downhearted. If you’ve been there, you can offer encouragement like no one else can.

            God is the god of uniqueness. Just look at his creation; no two individuals are exactly alike, not even identical twins, no two snowflakes follow the same pattern, no two fingerprints are alike. Even the heavens display their own quirkiness:

Hiding in our sky are a few stellar oddballs worth seeking out.  These stars aren’t your run-of-the-mill balls of hydrogen and helium.  They seem to play by their own rules, standing out among their neighbors as true eccentrics, unapologetic in their uniqueness.  In defying our expectations and even our common sense, they force astronomers to reconsider the limits of what is physically possible and, occasionally, to rethink their core assumptions about our universe. (2)

            Shine through your uniqueness. Make the world rethink its assumptions about individuals with special needs. Defy expectations and strive to be the best “you” that ever lived upon this earth. Temple Grandin stepped out of the crowd despite her autism diagnosis and defied expectations by becoming a leading advocate for autism as well as writing several books which have helped thousands of individuals on the spectrum. Her contributions to the world of autism have had such incredible impact that she has been termed a champion in the autism community.

            Unique? A star that stands out from all the others? If so, you are a special person created by God with a purpose. You have a platform God can use. Will you stay in the crowd or will you step out and show the world how amazing you are? Dare to be one of those ‘stellar oddballs worth seeking out’ and shine for all the world to see.

(1) Tim Tebow, Shaken (Waterbrook, NY: 2016), pg 129.

(2) futurism.com, five-weird-stars-found-galaxy, Article by John Fuentes, Feb. 4, 2015.