I went to a small Quaker college in Wilmington, Ohio, and it was a very different environment from the one I grew up in. I knew little about the Society of Friends and I didn’t like their oatmeal very much, but it was a great place for me to be. I made a lot of friends, learned about all kinds of religions, and met a lot of strange people. From classmates to professors to the guy who cut the grass, there were a lot of interesting, quirky, weird people. It was an education in diversity, equity, and inclusion. We had students from the Bronx and students from the farmlands. Black, white, Latino, Asian, men, women, straight, gay; you name it, we had them. This is one of the things about higher education – it broadens your horizons in many ways.
My professor T. Canby Jones giggled when he thought about something funny. His voice rose 3 octaves as he told me about the mistakes he made in Greek studying under the famous Rufus Jones, no relation. I had a guy in my dormitory who walked in right angles and had a head tick; today he would have been labeled as autistic, but to the rest of us, he was that guy who walked in right angles and had a head tick. He was a great person, full of interesting ideas and wonderfully strange stories. And while he may have gotten bullied in high school, I don’t recall that ever happening in college. We watched out for each other.
A lot of you are strange, even if you don’t know it. I have embraced my strangeness even when others have ridiculed me or tried to bully it out of me. No matter how much people desire conformity, I have learned that normal is only a setting on the dryer, and anyone who doesn’t get that is going to have serious problems in life. And sure; if anyone knew what ADHD was when I was a kid, I might have turned out quite differently. I might have learned how to control myself better in polite company. I might have been taught ways to learn better instead of having to make it up myself. And I think those kinds of treatments are beneficial in many ways. But that is long in the past. I can mope, or I can move on.
I think our strangeness – our individuality – is part of the intelligent design of God. Every set of fingerprints is unique. Every snowflake is as well, although I don’t know how one proves that. Each dog I have owned has had its own look and personality and weirdness. Each friend I have made is their own, true self. And yes, each one of us has deficits and needs to improve and grow over time, but to try to diminish someone for being different isn’t just a fool’s errand, it goes against God’s beautiful creation. Nobody is more beautiful than anyone else, no matter what the culture forces on us. Embrace your strangeness, you weird, beautiful creation of God.
Pray – We thank You, God, for who we are and who You have created us to be. May we embrace Your strange and wonderful creations all around us. Amen.
Today’s art is by Jeff Soto.