Not Like the Other

I remember watching Sesame Street as a child and then again when my own children were little. They often had a little thing where they would show four different things, three that were similar in some way and one that was completely different. While showing them, they sang a song that went like this: "One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?"

I was struck with that song as I walked through a garden at Bonneyville Mill County Park in Bristol, IN yesterday. As I walked through the garden, God showed me another way I could apply what I was seeing. Here goes...

Just four of the dahlias in the garden

The park has a dahlia garden. It's filled with beautiful flowers of varying shapes, colors and sizes. I started thinking about the fact that you can see roses and they all look relatively the same even though they may be different colors. But there is a pretty distinctive look to roses. It's the same with daisies, carnations, sunflowers, etc. Not so with dahlias. I counted at least 10 different types of flowers...but they weren't different types actually. They were all dahlias. But they were very different shapes, colors and sizes. Drastically different. The thing they all had in common was their beauty.

I then started thinking about another one of God's creation that is the same as dahlias...people. Yep, humans. Look around you. Is everyone the same shape? Size? Color? Even in families people aren't the same shape, size or even color. So does that mean they aren't all beautiful in their own way? NO! It means that God created variety. He created a diverse world. How boring would it be if everyone looked exactly the same? How very "Stepford Wives" that would be. I for one would not be interested to live in a world like that.

So I challenge you. When you see the people around you at work, church, in your neighborhood, the grocery store, etc...don't treat them differently because they aren't exactly like you. No matter what they look like, dahlias all need sun and water to survive. Similarly, no matter what they look like, people all need love and respect.