Let’s Enjoy Our Differences

We are all so different. We are different in our likes and dislikes, in our motivations, in our personalities. We are certainly different in our physical characteristics…. height, weight, “looks”. 

Doing my usual extensive research for the BLOG, I discovered that there are 4 different personality types. No wait, hold on…. others say there are 8, no 10, yikes even 16 personality types. Don’t worry, I’ll sort this out using my extensive background in Psychology. Just so you know, I took a course in “Exceptional Psychology” in college. I sat next to a cute little blonde from Louisville, Ky. ….. I think she liked me.  I’ll tell you right now, that was a lot more pleasant experience than attending my Organic Chemistry class sitting next to Igor the genius from Transylvania who had a big dark beard and a peculiar body odor. “Okay, where was I…..let’s get back on track.”

Sometimes I tend to think that everyone is like me… they think like me, what’s important to me is important to them, they enjoy what I enjoy, “they like glazed donuts, the Cardinals and Giants, they like spy novels and certain movies, etc.” Well, after 76 years of life and 53 years of marriage, I’m not sure that’s true. You won’t believe this, but I can be in a discussion and throw out my well reasoned opinion and not everyone agrees with me. Sometimes even my wife doesn’t agree with me… can you believe it? 

Have you ever seen a car or house with a LOUD COLOR …. I mean “neon pink or bright purple”. I abruptly exclaim, “who in the world would choose that color…. let’s be serious…a lime green house? Then I hear from the other seat, “I guess they like that color…it’s not the worst color in the world… I could get used to that color”. After I swerve back out of the ditch onto the road again, I again exclaim, “excuse me, really, seriously…..”.

Judy and I are different. Certainly the obvious differences…man & woman… but in other ways too. She loves flowers and can be immersed in every aspect of flowers, planting them, caring for them, and mainly enjoying them. She loves to visit Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, and really any botanical garden, even our neighbor’s beautiful flower garden. She loves “clouds” and watches them every day commenting on them, seeing the shapes and colors, wondering if God has assigned someone in heaven to work on them every day. She secretly wonders if maybe she could be part of that “heavenly cloud team” one day. I’m observant too, but in a different way. I tend to count the ceiling tiles in rooms….”hmmmmm let’s see, there are 12 tiles per row and 12 rows, that means there are 12×12 = 8,523 total tiles. If the tiles cost $5.00 each , that equals $4.5 million…wow, that’s a lot for the ceiling of a bathroom. Judy’s never that interested when I share some of these insights. 

Dave, is there a point to this BLOG? Yes, yes, yes…please calm down. The point is that we really need each other. We are all different, we each bring something different to the table. “We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.” We really complete each other. St. Paul speaks of this in his first letter to the Corinthians, talking about the Body of Christ and the different members working together for the common good. “Now there are varieties of gifts, varieties of service, varieties of working… for the common good. All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit…. for just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ… as it is, there are many parts, yet one body.(1Cor. 12 4-20) 

So let’s thank God for our differences. We need each other. We complete each other. We benefit from each others gifts. Let’s continue to place all of our gifts and talents and differences at the feet of our Lord and he will make a  beautiful tapestry. And that is very good news.