Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Normal?

Are you normal?

I'm not. Never pretended to be. Well, that's not true. Years ago I tried, back in my teens and twenties, to be normal or at least act it. I finally gave up when I reached my thirties. Somewhere along the way a friend gave me a little sign that still hangs in my kitchen. "I'm not weird, I'm gifted." The truth of that remains to be seen.

I believe God still talks to people. At age sixty-five, I love dolls and paper dolls and children's books, always have and always will. I love England and English authors and know more about English history than I do the history of my own country although I love the USA and have no desire to live elsewhere.

I used to write a humor column for the local newspaper. One day I got a call from an elderly woman who asked "I like your column and it's obvious you are a Christian but you say you've been married three times. How can you justify that?" I answered, "I can't. Ma'am, it's people like me who most need and appreciate a Savior."

Once I said sadly to a neighbor who was a school counselor, "I wish our family was normal." She replied, "There are no normal families. Some of us just put on a better front than others." That comment ministered grace to me - made me feel less weird.

How about you? Are you normal?

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