To Recognize, to Know

People have a certain beauty about them. And of course we've all heard the cliched statement, "Everyone is different. Everyone is special in their own way." But as I build closer and closer relationships with people, the more I realize this statement is true. Each person is special in their own way. Why? The first chapter of Genesis informs us, "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." God created us. I've always loved imagining God as the Creator. I may not be the most this way, but I can be a somewhat artsy person. And being that way, I can see why God loves all of His creation so much, and why He cares for all of it so much. But also, I love that He makes each thing different - just as an artist does. An artist may have a general style, but each thing he creates is unique and incredible in its own way. God has a way of making each person entirely unique. Entirely different. With an entirely different story.
As a child, I didn't understand the uniqueness of each person. My parents always told me that everyone has an entirely unique lifestyle, and entirely unique way of thinking. I used to imagine, "Weelll... what if someone rode their bike at the -exact- same time I did, spent time with their family at the -exact- same time I did, looked -exactly- like I do, etc. etc." After I grew older though, I began to realize that no one is going to have the exact same experience. No one is going to think the same way, have the same opinions, have experienced the same joys and pains.
In any case, my purpose for this post was not to give you cheesy, warm, fuzzy feelings. On the contrary, I have something I want to point out. And perhaps it's a random hangup that I have. But it's something that I've noticed more and more lately, and as my mom would say, it's getting on my case. I have realized that people, even close friends, will stereotype a person to the point that they don't see the other qualities and traits of a person. For instance, one of my friends is extremely intelligent. He's smart, intellectual, theologically sound, all of that grand stuff. But people fail to look beyond that sometimes. Oftentimes they'll look at him and say, "Oh look at him! He's the guy who is intelligent and intellectual." And yes, that is part of his unique self, but do we look beyond it? Why do we not look beyond that to see the entire person? To see all of the interesting traits? Another one of my friends has a reputation for being silly. And yes, she's silly. Extremely silly. Hilariously silly. I love her silliness. But she and myself constantly become annoyed when no one else realizes that she has other traits besides that. For me? I have a reputation for being cute. I don't have any earthly idea why, but over the past year or so, I have picked up the reputation of being "the cute one." Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind being called cute. It's a compliment. It's nice. But I get extremely frustrated when every other word I say, every other expression I make, someone blurts out, "Oh my gawsh Madison, you are so adorable!" Um. Thanks?
Of course we're all going to have more prominent traits. Some people are musically inclined, some people get 800s on their SAT scores, some people are Mr. Fix-its, some people are good at giving advice, some people have an eye for fashion, some people are theologically sound, some people always have a song to go along with the conversation at hand, etc. These are things that are going to stand out to us. But my point is, I don't like it when that's all we notice. I don't like it when that's the only thing people go so far to observe. When people call me cute or adorable, yes, it's nice, but I wish they would look beyond just that. These things are so superficial. We all have our own traits and talents, and it's important, especially with your close friends, to observe these. It's important to sit down and listen to a person, to learn about them, to know them.
Each person has their story. Each person does not consist of one talent, one trait, one idiosyncrasy. We should never judge a person by the one trait that particularly stands out. Because people are a world of traits. People have a world of knacks. People have a world of trials and seasoning that no one else has. My dad has always told me that people want to be known. And honestly, that's one of the biggest chunks of wisdom anyone has ever given me. People do want to be known. It's part of our nature to want to be known - the whole person.
Don't judge a book by its cover.
Recognize the uniqueness.
Know the story.
God created this person to be known by Him and by other people. Don't just love one mannerism. Don't go by the superficial. Love the whole person.