OK 2 Be U(nique)!

There is only one you!

Did you know that?

Of course you did. 🙂

Do you remember when you learned about your unique fingerprints . . . or how about your one-of-a-kind DNA?

I know you noticed the differences in everyone’s hair and skin color, height, width, the shape of our eyes, nose, ears, hips and yes – even our thighs.  🙂

So, if we know we are all different and that there is no one like us –  then why are we always comparing ourselves to others and trying or yearning to be just like [so-and-so]?

Why do we try to “keep up with the Jonses”?

Why do we feel pressured to help our kids conform to what is “normal” or “in”?

Wanting to “be like” . . .

Honestly, I think it all started a long time ago with 2 people and a serpent.

Two people who wanted to “be like” someone else (God), and when they fell for this trap, Satan realized how fantastically successful this ploy was, and decided to keep using it on the rest of humanity year after year, and generation after generation.

Why?

Because your uniqueness is a gift!

And Satan knows that your uniqueness (and that of your kids) will affect and change this world for the better!  And without it – the world is also affected, but not necessarily in a good way.

U(nique)ness – a Masterpiece!

Your uniqueness is a special, one-of-a-kind piece of God’s love and who He is!

Did you know that?

Without you and your uniqueness, God’s love (His character, representation and image) is not fully and totally represented here on earth.  You are a fantastically unique piece of the puzzle that makes up not only humanity and all it’s talents, skills, abilities and capabilities, but the beautiful image of God Himself (who He is – His creativity, love, compassion, intelligence and more)!

Each one of us was made in God’s image (who is unique Himself), and He specifically designed you to be . . . YOU . . . to be U(nique)! 

Psalm 139:13-15

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

He has created billions of masterpieces . . . not copies!

You were not made from a mold – but hand-crafted.  Masterpieces and hand-crafted items are ALWAYS worth more than copies!  Would someone pay millions for a copy of a Rembrandt or Monet?  No.  But they would for the real thing – the masterpiece.

YOU are God’s masterpiece!

You are worth far more than gold, silver or gems!

Your unique DNA, fingerprints, likes, dislikes, talents, abilities, skills and more are what this world needs!

Without it, things don’t change, there is no variety and spice to life, cures are not discovered, songs are not written, movies are not made, orphans are not cared for . . . .

But the question is . . .

Do you “know that full well”?

What makes you U(nique)?

Have you thought about that lately?

Do you really know just how special and unique you are?  Or are you living under the opinions, statements, and lies of others as to who you are?

Can you really know who you are and what makes you U(nique)?

Many of you have heard of Eric Liddell and have possibly seen the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire that showed his pursuit of becoming an Olympic running champion.  He once said, “God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”  He just passionately pursued what he did best – what he was designed to do!

Who has God made you to be and what Has He created you to do?

Who am I?

There are a lot of things I’ve wanted to be in life – and most of them revolved around being “the best” at something.  Yes – I admit – I watched with stars in my eyes when Olympians would win gold medals, beautiful young women would be crowned Miss America, actors and actresses would win Oscars and more.  I also hated losing at games, had a hard time saying I was sorry when I knew I was right, was a faithful friend to those who were not so kind to me and to the underdog, liked being the last one up or at an event, and more.

This stubbornness (and rebellion in some years and ways) in my life, I always thought was a weakness, a sin, a downfall (yes, there were some sins that came from it).  But in the last several years, I have been learning what my name means and how God wants to use that stubbornness and need to win for good (yes – I “blame” my parents for my competitiveness now! 🙂  hee,hee).

Lori = Victorious One – It comes from the Laurel plant – whose leaves were put on the heads of heroes and victors as a symbol of honor and victory; it is a symbol of highest status; in the Bible it is often an emblem of prosperity and fame.

Victory

Honor

Prosperity

Fame

No wonder I was drawn to all those things as a kid! 🙂  {Yes Lori – but so are all of us!}

Yes you are – because you ALL were made UNIQUE – to be honored, prosperous, famous in God’s eyes (and possibly the world’s) and victorious in all you are made to do!

But more than what my name means . . . over the last 6 years, as I left my job to be a stay-at-home-mom of 5, and have had all “titles” stripped away from me, God has been using this time to show me just who I really am (a daughter of the King!), how special and unique I am, how much He loves me for who I am (hey – He made me . . . so of course He loves me!), and is now showing me how to use who I am and what I can do to be a blessing to this world!

My stubbornness and determination to win and be the victor in everything,  is a blessing – a gift! 

God showed me He can and wants to use it to create me to be that Victorious warrior – to fight not just for things in my life, but in the lives of others!  I am a prayer warrior and encourager – and will fight for the right of everyone to know that they are loved, cherished, valuable, and important – and to see them set free from the lies that the enemy has used to keep them in bondage and from being who they were created to be . . . Totally Unique!!

Use your uniqueness to make a difference in this world!

I have loved and lived by this quote – spoken by a great man who knew what was in him, what he was capable of, what our nation was capable of, and didn’t listen to the naysayers – but spoke up and spoke out loud all that God had put in him!  . . . And he changed the world!

“Use me God.  Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

So I want to leave you with some questions:

• Who are you?

• Who do you want to be?

• What can you do?

• What do you want to do?  (and what do you NOT want to do?!  It’s ok to not want to do some things “everyone else is doing”.)

• And how can you use your uniqueness to make a FANTASTIC, AMAZING and UNIQUE difference (big or small) in this world and in the lives of others?

Tell me below – How are you going to change the world or the lives of others?