Flaws

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog! These are just going to be some random things I come across in my daily life. It will include some stuff on my travels (if I ever get around to traveling), my writing journey, and other times just things that are on my mind or that I want to talk about.

Anyways, let me explain why I call my blog “Weathered Things.” Outside, there is the atmosphere, where all the weather that effects earth is formed. Thunder, lightning, rain, hail, wind, you name it. It effects everything on the earth. And I absolutely love the rustic, distressed look that chipping paint and crumbling brick gives furniture and old houses. It adds character, and a realistic feel that I don’t get from the world these days. Everything seems to be perfect, clean, and flawless. I honestly don’t understand why everyone likes it like that. Nothing seems natural. Don’t get me wrong, I love things to be clean. But flawless? I need flaws. Flaws are what gives things character and personality.

I look around the neighborhood I live in, and I see houses. All of them have a few things in common. For one, their lawns are all cut. They don’t have any dandelions or weeds growing. Their trees are trimmed into perfect little circles, as are their bushes and shrubs. The paint on their siding isn’t chipping, in fact, it doesn’t even look like it had been painted 10 years ago - it looks like they did it 3 hours ago. Their decks are spotless, and if a leaf is found on the whitewashed wood, they sweep it off immediately. Then I look at my house. The paint is slightly worn, and the bricks at the front are weathered. The shrubs that line the walkway to my house are trimmed, but not kept in perfect, artificial shape. The trees are only missing branches that could have come in contact with the house. The lawn isn't taken care of meticulously. I once asked my parents why everyone mowed their lawns, if God had created the grass to grow and only be cut by animals eating it. They said it was because people didn’t like the “natural” look. And that slightly annoyed me.

I am a human. We are all humans. And all humans have flaws. Take me, for instance. I am a complete nerd. My hair isn’t perfectly smooth - in fact, it tangles a lot. I don’t fit the world’s view of perfection. And I am completely okay with that! You know why? Because I am exactly who God made me to be. Our flaws are what make us unique. Our flaws are what make us who we are.

Mark 10:18 says “Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.”

I know that as a teen girl, high school can be a war zone full of makeup, hair accessories, and drama. And the weak spot that everyone targets is your flaws. I know this from experience. And I know that this may seem generic, but seriously. Don’t let it get to you. It is difficult, I know. Sometimes you just want to go home and cry. But I have learned that if you are confident and say something back, they have absolutely no idea what to do with you. Example:

 “Oh my gosh you are so freaking weird!” (said in a condescending and cruel manner).

 “Aw, thank you so much!” (said in a sweet and sincere manner).

I have done this on multiple occasions and no one knows what to say to me. It works really well.

And so, the conclusion of this article is this: God has made each and every one of us different. We all have flaws, and our flaws are what make us human. So don’t let the remarks people make upset you. Most of the time, they have flaws that they don’t want to show, so they try and expose yours. Everyone has flaws. Everyone is human. And like chipping paint and crumbling bricks, flaws give us character and personality. So embrace your flaws, because you are who you are. And who you are is amazing.

~Olivia Ann