My break was wonderful. One of my close friends who had been a bridesmaid in my wedding came out for a week (she is also a teacher). We went for runs and walks, explored downtown Hamilton (and discovered that we shouldn't be allowed down there too often or we will spend all of our money), looked at all the architecture around us, went to the movies and saw Cinderella, explored Dundurn Castle, and she introduced me to The Mindy Project. God has truly blessed me with friends that I am able to be myself with, friends who aren't afraid when I let my peculiar side show (which is far more often that I should probably admit).
How many people still dress up in regimental wear when the opportunity arises?
There is a word I mentioned earlier that came up regularly while my friend was visiting.
Peculiar.
If you type it in to your search bar the very first definition you will see will probably say "strange or odd; unusual."
Please keep this in mind.
Before going to the movies, we stopped at Chapters to look for some books. We love to read, and as English teachers are on the lookout for books that will grab our kids' imaginations. Sometimes you find a class that will love Lord of the Flies, especially when you show how it parallels The Walking Dead. Other times, no matter how hard you try, your class will spurn To Kill a Mockingbird. So we have made it somewhat of a mission to find stories our kids might connect to while still challenging them.
One book we both picked up was titled Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I finished it within two or three days. There were numerous themes that could be discussed in a classroom setting, and several projects that you could do with a class using the novel. I'm definitely holding out hope I will be able to use it at some point.
Perhaps the one thing that really struck both my of us was the ideal of "Peculiars." These are people who are different than "normal" people. Some of them float, some can create fire, others have the ability to see the monsters that no one else can see. And these Peculiars are ostracized. They are treated differently. No one knows what to do with them. To an extent they are thought to be crazy.
I have shared before about the friends I have and how much I appreciate the quirks that we all share.
C.S. Lewis in his book, The Four Loves, states that "Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: 'What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .'"
I so value these friendships because I feel that I am able to let my guard down. I can share how I'm feeling or what I'm thinking and there is no judgement. My friends, in turn, are able to do the same thing. I feel like I have been a bit of a broken record lately when I speak of my longing for close friendships here in Hamilton. But as I have pondered this idea of being peculiar (which in turn leads me to Lewis), something else has become apparent.
Lewis goes on to say that, “In friendship...we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another...the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,' can truly say to every group of Christian friends, 'Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.' The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others.”
Whether people care to admit it or not, each us is peculiar. There is something about us that makes us a little different, at times even odd. I like to throw punches when I'm running to "Eye of the Tiger." Sometimes I will randomly break out in song or dance (and sometimes this will be in public places). When watching The Lord of the Rings I can't help but recite the lines along with the movie--and it is this ability to memorize that makes the re-enactments I do with my sisters all the more enjoyable. I like to play video games and watch zombie movies. I think Firefly was the greatest show ever created and want to name one of my children after at least one of its characters. I relish early mornings when the sun has only just risen and there is a briskness about the earth that causes me to feel surrounded by the presence of God. I think the wind blow my hair is His hand caressing my face. I have a mug fetish that will only allow me to drink out of certain mugs depending on my mood. I want to find ways to name my children after my favourite literary men (Mr. Knightley and Mr. Rochester).
For some of us our quirks are more difficult to hide. For some it is the need to have a house that is spotless for company (yeah... that's me too), or the innate desire to bake enough dessert to feed fifty people... not five. It might the genre of entertainment you enjoy, or the type of tea you drink.
When we find someone who shares, or at least understands our peculiarities, that person usually becomes a friend. And I think it is that sort of person I have been hung up on finding since I moved.
On Sunday night, a group of five couples got together at our pastor's house. We don't know much about each other beyond the fact that we're married and don't have kids, and we love Jesus. But we have decided to start a small group together.
Part of this scares me and makes me nervous--it is hard to meet new people and wonder how you will be received. But then I think of what Lewis says about God saying "Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another." These relationships can become a way through which God reveals to each of us the beauties of the others.
And so while I'm scared, I'm also excited. Because each of us is a little bit different, and I think we all want those differences to be accepted (even if they can't be understood). And it is in seeing those differences that we begin to see how intricately God created us. No two people are exactly the same. Each is unique and beautiful.
