Apples of Gold Home School News

IT'S A BIG WORLD OUTSIDE THE BOX

     I'm looking out the window, admiring the beautiful gladioli which are finally beginning to bloom. What an array of colors! Deep lavenders, sweet pinks and hot ones too, brilliant oranges that look good enough to eat; God knows how I love the vivacious expression of His creation in such vivid hues! I see the same thing when I look beyond nature into the make-up of people.

     No two of us our exactly alike. We may share similar coloring, styles, ideas, tastes, body shape, and feelings, but not all exactly the same way, or in the same combination. The world is fond of telling us that we need to celebrate diversity. Unfortunately, in some circles that has come to mean we should celebrate and accept one anothers' sin preferences. That's not what pleases God; and yet, the idea that we should step outside our own little box of what we think is beautiful, or good, or interesting, to explore and rejoice in the diversity God has created and instilled in others, is not only a delightful experience, but one which, I believe, pleases God as well.

     Generally, I'm not fond of purple (except as it colors flowers). Yet, for some reason, God created a LOT of people, especially young people, to be  enamored by purple as a favorite color. Because teenagers especially seem to like purple, whether Christian or not, does that then make purple a worldly color? (Hang with me here.) Of course not. But that's a simplistic take on a much bigger picture, the point of which is that we are extremely diverse, and the diversity of our tastes and talents that define us, sometimes reach deeply into what we believe spiritually.

     Some people believe that boys should keep their hair cut above their ears. Some believe that hair style is simply an artistic expression. Some people don't believe that people should pierce their ears, because if God meant for us to have holes there, He'd have put them there (hey, don't laugh; I didn't pierce my ears until age 45!). Other people think that a belly button is the perfect such hole.

DOES GOD DO UGLY?

     Whether or not we agree or disagree with the choices of others, especially our Christian brothers and sisters, we have to remember one thing: that God is a VERY ECLECTIC Being. He didn't limit Himself in His creation of the universe. He made beautiful things like my gladioli, but he also made frightening things, like Volcanoes and Boa Constrictors and Sea Monsters. Have you taken a close look at some spiders lately? No, probably not. The bulk of civilization thinks they're creepy, and if we'd been gods, we probably wouldn't have made them. Yet, they are beautiful by design, and another expression of God's creativity. I get the feeling that God thinks spiders and eels are just as beautiful as gladioli.

     Do you know kids who go to church, and walk the Walk, but for some reason have pierced tongues and green hair? They might seem like spiders to some folk, but they're gladioli to God.

HIS ATTRIBUTES IN US

     The cool thing about all of us, is that we were created in His image; meaning, we have been given tiny measures of His attributes. That's why we are creative. I'm creative in telling stories. My husband is creative in designing mailbox shields. You may be creative in decorating cakes, your kids may be creative in decorating their journals (with art, words, music). Your uncle may be creative in filling an aquarium, your aunt may be creative in planting a garden. Creativity, that attribute that was given by our Father, is expressed in zillions of different ways in us. Every single one of us is creative in some way. And if I may be so bold, I think God smiles when He sees us expressing the gift!

EXPRESSION OR BUST

     That means we shouldn't be surprised, or worse yet, dismayed, by the creativity of others. (Please don't swing the pendulum here. I'm not talking about a cross in a jar of urine or other sacrileges we've had thrust upon us.) But we all have to express our creativity or we'll burst.

     So what's my ultimate point? It's two-fold. First, let's accept the creative expression, the styles, the personalities of others, especially of those who are of the household of faith. Second, let's honor the creative bents that God planted in our children, even the ones that make us cock our heads and wonder, "Where did that come from?"  Maybe you never had a wanderlust to travel, but they do. Maybe you'd rather go back to horse and buggy days, but they want to drive race cars. Maybe you're an ultra-conservative, and they want to put purple kool-aid in their hair. What's the trouble? Did anyone hold God back when He said, "And now I'm going to make a crazy little thing called an Armadillo"?

     Enjoy your "gladioli" today, whatever color they express.