A New Name

Almost every person I’ve been close to has expressed concern that they’re ‘weird’. Descriptions vary, but you get the gist. Abnormal. Odd. Not quite good enough.

Set aside the fact they’re my friends. The folks I’m talking about are Fabulous, not strange. When we share our struggles, I don’t think ‘goodness me, this one’s messy’.  I think ‘You too? Phew’. I thank God for putting us in community. And I wonder again at the chasm between truth and self-perception.

What is a human meant to look like? Strong, self-aware, self-controlled? Or messed-up, unsure and dependent?

Jesus describes us as ‘sheep without a shepherd’.  Confused, overtired and (my interpretation this), in need of a hug.  Our culture might refute it – but check out SurAlan’s latest crop of apprentices and tell me I’m wrong.  The cream of industry and education: squabbling in a taxi about how to brand catfood.

We’re told that teenage years are the most awkward ones. They were for me.  But self-realisation did not come gift-wrapped with shot glasses on my 18^th  birthday. All of us worry.  All of us compare. The problem is, we’re judging ourselves against someone who doesn’t exist.  And if they did exist, guess what? They’d be the weird ones.