So first off, I need to give a little more background. I'm from Idaho. I've never moved, and I have LOVED living here my whole life. My family doesn't travel too much but we take trips here and there to different nearby states. Just after my nineteenth birthday however, I choose to serve a mission and was assigned to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for 18 months to teach other people about my religion ( I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you have questions check out LDS.org). Wisconsin was the farthest I had ever been from home, but it was still the United States.... So it couldn't be that different right??? WRONG!
Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE the state of Wisconsin. A HUGE piece of my heart is in that state, but it was not like the home I was used to out west. The people in Wisconsin said funny things like "Oh you betcha!" and "Don't you know!" and they liked to eat sour kraut. They even had a side of cheese with their apple pie....Where in the world am I?? To top off the strangeness I felt being in a new place, the city that I first lived in had large sections of ghetto which was very different from the atmosphere I was used to at home (on my families ranch). Its an under exaggeration to say that I was out of my comfort zone. There were many different ethnicities, and types of people in Wisconsin and I didn't understand why a lot people did the things they did, or said the things they said, but this is what I learned.....
Everyone is different. Everyone is weird. Everyone has their own quirks. Some quirks are more noticeable than others, but everyone has them. I thought I was "normal" going to Wisconsin, but I realized that to a lot of people in Wisconsin, this Idaho farm girl who was teaching people about religion was very strange. I learned that if you want to be happy and really come to love people you have to put your own perceptions of "normal" aside and learn to love everyone for being their individual type of normal. Is it easy? No! It's so worth it though. I look back at the time I got to spend in Wisconsin, and I know that if I hadn't learned to accept difference, and look past those differences to see who those people really are, I would have missed out on many opportunities to make some life-long friends. I suggest each of us try and find the good in others who are different, and learn to love them for the things that make them unique and their own kind of beautiful. Will you join me?
Please feel free to post questions or comments below.
-Lacey
Great article! We just served at the neighborhood table on Thursday. While we were serving the food, a few of the women were commenting on the different types of people who come to eat free food. I decided to see if I could love those very different people. I looked closely at them, trying to see them as God does. I felt the spirit testify that they are all God's children and He does love them, and found that with His help I was able to look past differences and love them too. I think it is easier to love someone when you are serving them. Think of the bond a mother has for a child after countless years of nursing, diapers, meals, and loving! The most difficult people to love are those who are somehow your enemies, those who dislike you, inadvertently hurt you, or even purposely do things that hurt you. Loving that type of person is a real challenge. That type of love requires forgiveness, understanding and Gods help. Thanks again for the fun view into the weirdness of Wisconsin!
ReplyDeleteI love how you included a personal experience. I liked your other blog posts but this is great that you had a personal experience on culture. I am glad you realized once you look past differences that you can really see someone for who they are and not just that they eat weird things or talk different.
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