There is Nothing Wrong with You

Hi, Pastor Wendy here. I want to tell you, there is nothing wrong with you. You might feel different from a lot of people; many people do feel different. If you feel that you can’t align with the cis-het neuro-majority people because you feel very different, that’s okay. Being different is fine. There’s nothing wrong with it. I don’t have to tell you this, you already know it’s true.

God loves diversity.

God loves diversity. You might be wondering, do I have a direct pipeline to God that I know what They’re thinking? Of course not. I can pray, like anyone can, sending up my concerns to God, and I can listen in meditation, but I’m not going to get an email or text back from God telling me exactly what God thinks. I can look around, though, and observe the universe, especially this planet that God has created. Clearly, God loves diversity. Have you seen giraffes, and jellyfish? That’s diversity. Even dogs. God created dogs. (That was a good one, God!) You’ve got your Great Danes and St. Bernards, and you’ve got chihuahuas and min-pins. They’re all dogs, but the couldn’t be more different. So, we know that God loves diversity.

You don’t have to be the person others want you to be.

You might feel like people want you to be different from who you are. Maybe people say, “Just be yourself – but not like that!” or, “Sure, it’s okay to unmask, but don’t make me uncomfortable.” It’s not okay for people to give you the idea that you’re not okay the way you are, or that maybe there is something wrong with you.

There’s nothing wrong with you.

If you feel like you need to make changes  in your life, changes can be very positive. Clearly, God loves change. If you look at yourself from twenty years ago, and imagine yourself in twenty more years, you’ll see a lot of change. 

Change is part of God’s plan.

God created humans to be all different colors. I’ve heard that the scientific reason for that is that people who live closer to the equator need more pigment in their skin to protect them from the sun, and people who live closer to the poles don’t need that, so their skin is much paler. But, if we can make sunglasses that change color depending on the need and the environment, you know God could have created people like that. Look at the chameleon, and the octopus. God could have made us with the ability to change our skin color as needed. That way on a very hot, sunny day, or when we’re closer to the equator, we could all have very dark skin. When it’s night or we’re closer to the poles and we don’t need protection from the sun, we could have different pigmentation. God could have done that, but I think God loves diversity. God loves that we’re all different from each other.

God loves change.

I also think that God loves change. Look at the seasons, look at human development, look at butterflies. But sometimes people might give you the feeling that you should not change, as if your body is the way God created you and  that therefore you shouldn’t change it. I don’t believe that’s true. There are people who decorate themselves with tattoos, piercings, and some people will even change the color of their hair. 😊 If who you are -- the spirit that God put inside you, that spark of divinity, the soul God created -- if that spirit that God gave you doesn’t align with the body that you’re walking around in, and you have the ability to make changes that feel right to you, God will rejoice with you. If surgery will make you feel more truly who you really are, that’s great. If you don’t need surgery to be who you truly are, that’s great, too. Each person has their own knowledge of who they are and their own way of expressing it. Someone might want to wear rainbow eye shadow and purple lipstick. That’s fine. Some people don’t like wrinkles and they get facelifts. That’s okay. Some people want to be taller and they might wear high heels or lifts in their shoes. Some people need surgery and/or hormone treatment to be who they truly are. Some don’t need surgery, because they know who they are regardless of their body. 

God knows who you are, too, and loves you.

While I was preparing for this message, I came upon a poet named Josie Balka. She wrote a poem called, “There is Nothing Wrong With You.” You can find a YouTube video of Josie reading her poem here. It spoke to me when I listened to it, and I hope it will speak to you, too.

Because there is nothing wrong with you. 

God loves you, and I love you, exactly as you are, no mask required.