Beauty of Different

 

The beauty of fall in New England spans so many senses.  The pumpkins in the fields.  The apples dangling from the trees.  The crisp air blowing past your face.  The smell of a wood fire from a neighbor’s home.  Yet nothing surpasses the beauty of the leaves.  Whether a year filled with vibrant color or a year glowing with subtle hues, the leaves make it autumn.  I watch for the first leaf to change color in mid-August and follow the journey on our trees during the next three months.  I continue to be amazed at how each leaf gives off a distinct color.  You can have the same tree with reds, oranges, yellows, and greens all sharing same branches.  It is the differences of those leaves that create the most beauty.  One trunk, multiple beauty.

Reflecting on all those different color leaves turned my attention to all of us on this earth.  Each of us has our own different color.  It could be the color of our skin.  It could be the color of our personality.  Maybe it is the color of our actions.  Each of us is not like the other.  Our thoughts, our words, our actions are different than the person standing next to us.  I say to our Lord, “Thank God!”  I do not know about you, but I can certainly only manage one of me (and I am sure my husband is saying the same thing!).  There is such beauty in the colors of all of us and what we bring to this earth.  God created us to be different, not to be the same.  It is those differences that we should be celebrating, not criticizing, about each other.

The leaves of one tree may change into many different colors.  It does not mean that the tree is ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ it means that beautiful differences can come from one place.  So, it is with God’s people.  Our foundation is our Lord and Savior, Jesus.  From Him, the beauty of all of his people shines through.  He is the trunk, we are the leaves, shining our colors for the world to see.  The beauty of our differences rooted in Christ Jesus is truly a miracle.  When we focus on all of us being one with Jesus yet giving off the color of our skin or our personality, it is something that should be marveled and revered. 

As we walk through this earthly life, may we reflect and appreciate the differences in the person next to us.  May we smile and say to ourselves, “There is another miracle”!  God made us, each of us, with a plan of how we can share our ‘colors,’ just like the leaves of New England.  Let us celebrate those differences with a sense of awe and wonder.  Only God can create the Beauty of Different.

Dearest Jesus, although we are one with you, you have created each of us to share our colors!  May we shine our colors to others, and more importantly, may we respect and celebrate the different colors around us.  Thank you for providing us the beauty of being different.  Amen.