Confidence in God's Normal (You're Not as "Weird" as You Think!)

First off, I want to let you know that I am not someone you'd call a normal teenage girl. I've never had a boyfriend, I like to wear dresses all the time, and, unlike many girls I know, I've watched just about every episode of Leave It to Beaver. I also can be a bit of a chatterbox, even to people I've just met, and (you may want to take another look at this next one) I think my mom is really cool. So none of these things I've listed are completely normal by today's culture. But this next thing beats all when it comes to out of the ordinary.

   A few weeks ago, my family went on a vacation to Orange Beach here in Alabama. On the upper deck of the condo we stayed in, there was a little platform that kind of looked like a stage. So what did we do? My sister, my cousin, and I went back to our room and, instruments in hand, went back to the platform and proceeded to play a two-hour-long show of our favorite songs UNINVITED. And it wasn't popular songs either -- no One Direction or Adele for us. We played everything from "I'll Fly Away" to my own personal favorite "Beulah Land." Now I'm sure you all think that we were either feeling really confident or really crazy that night. I could tell by the pointing and laughing that some of the people at the hotel thought the same thing. But that was not the reason we did it. We wanted to make a statement, to show that teenagers don't have to do things at the beach that they'll regret when they get home -- that instead of dishonoring God by going out and doing sinful things, we could lift Him up and show others the Great Love He has for us.

Now, when hearing this story, you might think, "What a confident girl! She doesn't care what anyone thinks about her." But if you did think that, you'd be wrong. On that night, we saw an opportunity and we took it. But when I think of the world with all its sinfulness coming at me in full force, sometimes I want to be just another face in the crowd. I have times when I doubt whether I can keep it together and show the world who God is because I'm afraid of what other people have to say about it. But then I remember that if God wanted me to blend into my surroundings, then He would've already made it happen. So obviously, He doesn't.  

If there's one thing that helps me when I doubt myself, it's this: the world's normal is not God's normal. And a lot of people think that God's normal is kind of different and weird. But wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same? We "weird" people give the world the variety it so desperately needs. And you know what that means? It means we need to keep it up. So believe in yourself and don't worry about what other people think. God made you who you are for a reason, and you need to honor Him for it. Because He sees you as His perfect creation, and isn't that all that really matters?