Weird

You were born an original. Don't die a copy. ~John Mason

Elizabeth, one of my dearest friends here in Georgia, made a statement last year that really sticks with me. She had been growing in her faith and watching our little group of friends as we worked out our business with God -- and one night she said, "I see how God works weird in other people's lives, and it occurs to me that He might just work weird through me too."

I love that. It's not particularly profound -- but it really resonates with me. My life has been weird. My path from one thing to the next has been weird. My friendships, body, choices, humor, and relationships have been weird too. While it's not huge -- I've realized that I've always carried a wee bit of bitterness toward God about the fact that my life seems to be the weird one.

What I'm learning in this season of my life - and at this place in ministry - is that I'm not alone. Most people think their lives are weird too. We've believed the lie that "everyone" moves through one stage to the next with little resistance. The truth is that few people do. The "weird" path - turns out to be the average one.

The great news about the fact that our lives are weird -- is that God is in the specific business of dealing with weirdos. Jesus chose twelve people to stick tight with him when he stepped out to do some radical "weird" work. A few of his group were fishermen, some of them were related, one of them collected taxes, a few of them never seemed to "get it", others were great leaders, there were a couple enigmas in the mix, and all of them were definitely sinners -- even to the point of betrayal. Clearly "weird" was something Jesus felt comfortable being around.

If you have anything really valuable to contribute to the world it will come through the expression of your own personality, that single spark of divinity that sets you off and makes you different from every other living creature. -Bruce Barton

I love that my friends are eclectic, as is my reading, my politics, my taste, my path, and my faith. It's all real, and it's me, and it seems to be something God is willing to work through. I am in process -- and process isn't always pretty.

But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. -Numbers 14:24