What is it about being different?

This week I wrote a poem and attached a bird portrait to my Facebook page. (I do that a lot.)

It’s about all of us having differences. No two of us are exactly alike. Thank you, Jesus, there is only one of me!

Since the fall of creation, we – mankind, have singled out those who are different. (And, I’m about as different as it gets.) That’s probably not going to change until Jesus comes again.

The bird is a very common house sparrow. But, not an ordinary house sparrow. This is a leucistic (pronounced luke-is-tic) house sparrow. Meaning it lacks melanin needed to produce the various shades of brown, and instead produces light golden colors. This is a rarity and the first I’ve ever seen or photographed. And, although it looks different, it’s a house sparrow through and through. And, I think it is much prettier than a regular house sparrow. You see I could take pictures of house sparrows literally by the thousands, but it’s the uniqueness and differences of this “golden sparrow” that make it attractive to me.

Can the same happen with people? Yes, but we have to work hard at it! The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” So, instead of singling people out by what makes them different, maybe we should work a little harder at what makes us all similar.

So… here’s the poem and image below.

Differences can make life hard,
Even make it tough,
Sometimes we often find ourselves,
Living in the rough.

But in the storm, there’s strength to find,
A lesson in the pain,
For through the trials we endure,
We grow and break the chain.

Though life’s not always kind and fair,
We rise with every fall,
Embracing what we cannot change,
We conquer through it all.