Unique With A Leaf

Did you know the hardest part about keeping a blog? Trying to figure out the first sentence to start the blog post :) So now that I got the hardest part out of the way...

     This semester has been a stretching semester of growth and falling on my face before God; in humble humility realizing that I cannot do this by myself. No matter how many times I hear that in sermons or through friends, I will ALWAYS try to do things on my own.
     This is a real, raw moment. I have never struggled with identity before. I have been comfortable with who I am and what I am doing. But! This semester has smacked me in the face with the awful habit of comparing myself to others. I'm going to blame it on something to do with senioritis and its' side effects. Through much self denial and friends calling me out (Particularly my lovely Roommate who knows me better than I know myself.) I realized I had an awful problem of comparing myself and unfortunately with comparison comes the absence of joy.

So I fell to my face in complete helplessness in front of God. 

Crying out for His joy to come in me and to see myself with a holy vision. 

     As cheesy as it is... I knew my word for this semester would be unique. "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139: 13-14. But, not just unique spelled out the way it looks on your computer, but with the dot of the "i" shaped as a leaf. 

     It's no surprise, I'm obsessed with fall. I love the crisp air, coffee, candles, and most importantly the beautiful color of the leaves. The leaves always amaze me how they change colors and make the most incredible master piece...it also helps that I live in the most beautiful place in the mountains to have a front row seat to the changing of the leaves in fall. 

God gave me such a simple, yet beautiful revelation of these leaves:

They are unique. 

     Every single one of these leaves are unique. They cannot be the same shape, color, texture. They must be unique in order to create my favorite season of the year. If they were all orange and oval shaped that would be a pretty boring fall. 

     Just like these leaves, He created me unique. Unique with the dot as a leaf! Why would God want us to all look the same, act the same way, and have the same personality? We must change into our own color and follow the destiny God has created uniquely for each one of us.

     Stop comparing. Stop letting the devil steal your joy. God created each of us for a unique purpose. He knew us before we were formed in our mothers womb. We were not meant to be copies of each other. To compare and conform is to lose sight of the destiny God has set before each one of us. Sometimes it takes us falling on our face to look up and see what really matters in life. Cry out to God for His vision and path for your life. Be Unique.