The Beauty in differences

​I do admire the leaves that rain down upon me and around me as I run.  The trees are so beautiful this autumn.  The colors are brilliant:  red, orange, yellow, green.  As the leaves blow and swirl around me, I feel a sense of awe and wonder.  How awesome that our world is filled with colors – different colors!  I can see the beauty!
 
I love the different seasons:  white winters, blooming spring, sunny summers, and colorful autumn.  I can see the beauty!
 
Much of our world is filled with water:  mighty oceans, fresh water lakes, winding rivers, and babbling brooks – all different.  I can see the beauty!
 
We travel to various parts of our country and our world to see different and beautiful lands:  mountains, valleys, prairies, jungles, rainforests, woods, deserts, lands of ice and snow…  I can see the beauty!
 
I love to hear different languages even when I don’t understand what they are saying.  It’s like music to the ear to hear different ways of speaking.  I can hear the beauty!
 
Our world is filled with a variety of opinions.  I love the beauty of voice, of listening and of problem solving.  I can see the beauty of the heart and the mind.
 
As I look at children, I see eyes of various colors, hair of different textures, bodies of different sizes, and skin colors that are all magnificent.  I can see the beauty!
 
Differences don’t have to be a “bone of contention.”  Differences can be used for good.  Differences can be beautiful.  I can see the beauty in differences.
 
Differences are everywhere in our world.  God made it that way.  He did not make everything the same.  Just think of all the plants and animals that fill our world.  Even day and night are different.  God did not make everything the same.  Imagine if He had done the unthinkable and made all things exactly alike – how boring, how uncreative.  “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”  (Genesis 1:31)    
 
In education, do we really want to make all teachers the same?  Do we want to treat all students as though they are like all other learners?  Or do we embrace and see the beauty in differences?
 
Use differences to guide learning and to build unity.
 
BEcky