Be Peculiar: The Challenge for Beiong Not Normal

Dare to be peculiar because you aren’t made to be like anyone else, so you might as well embrace it.

“You’re not normal.” The anesthetist had known me all of twenty minutes, and this is what she had to say.

When my regular doctor joined the party, I told him about her comments. He GRINNED. “Oh, I could have told them that.” Such a sympathetic reply.

All of this was going on in the delivery room as I was giving birth to the newest addition to our family, a healthy baby boy. Even the doctor had only known me for a total of seven months. I’ve always known I was unique, and I have always skipped along to the beat of my own drummer, but the comments made me wonder just how off I must be.

It’s one thing to consider you different. Those of you who have read some of my other writings know I’m not embarrassed by my lack of being normal. Knowing you aren’t normal is very much a different sensation from being called out by perfect strangers. When people you don’t know are out shouting it in the street, just how off you are, then you might need to get a t-shirt.

The more the doctors’ comments ran through my head, the more I contemplated normal. How many truly normal people do I really know? For that matter, what exactly is normal?

Webster’s defines normal as standard, average, or usual. For me, normal has always been about following the trends or the crowd. Normal is to be like everyone or everything else.

There have been very few moments in my life when I did things the way everyone else did them. You could call it my signature if you like, but I didn’t just dare to be different; I determined to be different. As I was growing up, I found pride in my uniqueness. Today, I still get a warm, fuzzy feeling when someone looks at me like I’m “not quite right.”

Finding scripture to back up my eccentric behavior was like a charge of lightning against a metal building. I think I actually lit up when I read that I am called to be peculiar (different, set apart). Finally, a word from God that I knew I could handle and do without feeling overwhelmed.

With the word of God backing me up, I have become even more determined to be off-center. Along the journey to “unbalanced”, my habits and ideas have changed as I have grown, learned, and experienced more (and I’ve managed to scare a few people with the changes – but that’s another story for another day). The real key is that despite my changes, I’m still “unique in all the world.” (This is a Little Prince reference – if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it.).

For me, it has been all about the leading or should I say the following – just not following the chaotic crowd of THEY. I’m not different because I don’t want to be like other people. I’m not different to cause a stir. I’m different because I step out each day trying to be like my Father. Walking in the steps that He left for me makes me different from others around me. His steps don’t give way to trends, times, things, or people.

I’m not alone in my walk (or attempted walk) in the Father’s steps. There are people all around me who go about their day trying to do the Father’s will. With so many striving to walk in His steps, little clones should be running about. That’s another part of the uniqueness that is this Walk. No two paths are the same. His purpose for me and His path for me are specific to me. I’m that special to Him. Instead of a bunch of clones wandering about, there are a bunch of odd, peculiar, unique individuals reflecting the glory of their Father.

How are you the “odd man out?” What are some of the peculiar paths God has called you to walk? What are you going to do today to set yourself apart from the world? God has made you “unique in all the world.” What will you do with that uniqueness?

Be blessed,