Misfit Island

I often make references to those classic old timie claymation movies that are so corny that they become outright hilarious. The best ones have horrible voices that show no kind of emotion at all, with the awkward movements of little handmade clay creatures that didn’t get their legs bent all the way so they can’t seem to walk properly without looking crippled. Those are the best. One of my favorite/most awful ones made has got to be the Rudolph one. That fabulous one with the abominable snowman that has foil teeth and a bad hair day, so awesome. I think I’ve seen lots of people that look just like that, which is a little alarming....

One thing about that old, ridiculous cartoon thing that I find funny, yet interesting at the same time..is the Misfit Island. Where all those weird toys somehow got magically put in one place so they could be depressed together. It’s kind of that way with people, you’ve got the outcasts to what we all might consider to be ‘normal’ wandering around and trying to find a place to fit. They generally end up finding other people similar to themselves that they can be around and ‘not’ fit in together. People tend to travel in herds, popular people roll with other popular people. Rich people stick with fellow rich people, nerds with nerds, jocks with jocks, churchies with churchies...and on and on it goes. (Sidenote: churchies is a word, seriously.) Nobody really likes to be alone you know, even for those of us that generally tend to be loners, it’s still not desirable to be alone all the time. So we gravitate towards others that we’re similar to and feel like we belong with. But there are so many people in the world that just don’t belong, so many of us that can get along with all sorts of groups or kinds of people and yet we don’t classify ourselves to fit into any particular group. You can have tons of friends, so many that they’re coming out of your ears, but yet you still don’t feel like you fit in entirely. Or you could have few friends, struggling to find anyone that might understand you in even the slightest inkling. In either circumstance, it get’s frustrating when you feel like you are on the outside looking in. No matter how tough skinned you are, it’s going to be a struggle.

I know how that feels, really. People don’t scare me, and friends are something that I consider to be a huge blessing....but I know that I don’t necessarily fit in anywhere. My life is different, my goals are different, and my focus is different. But I’m okay with that. It’s a good thing to be different (not freaky, mind you...just different.) I think too often, we’ve allowed ourselves to become part of the crowd and not fully grown into the men and women that God created us to be. Can you imagine what would happen if we all lived to our fullest potential, using all the gifts and talents that God has given us for His glory? It would be absolutely amazing.

So I guess to tie in the whole weird claymation thing along with how we all tend to shuffle by with the crowd, I just want to point out that we’re all misfits in some shape or form. We all have quirks or traits that separate us from each other, different looks, tastes, talents and so on. We’re all unique. So instead of us all trying to either pretend that we’re the same as everyone else and making fun of the ones that are different, (like those annoying reindeer that really got theirs in the end of that Rudolph movie) let’s be the ones that become ground breakers, growing into mighty men and women that live victorious lives in Christ. And instead of taking our eccentricities and differences to an extreme and isolating ourselves on our own personal islands, (like those creepy little toys with depression issues) let’s be bold and share what God has given us with others and help them to become stronger too. Weird analogy, I know. But I’ve seen weirder. And I may look elf-like in some instances, but I don’t have any plans on being a dentist or anything, so rest easy.

Misfit Island, gosh....I think by now it’s probably considered a continent.....there are plenty of people I WISH would go on an island like that....but that's another story:)