We all know the Black Sheep as the one that doesn’t necessarily fit in. They’re the outcast, the one with alternative eating habits or beliefs or an eccentric fashion sense. Often times a negative connotation is ascribed to the black sheep. This negativity can cause that YOU-nique individual to feel rejected or as if they don’t belong.
To be honest, sometimes being the Black Sheep stems from rejection of the culture in which you’ve grown up in, whether you’re talking about your family, your workplace, church, or the greater community in which you live. It takes a lot of grace to realize that you disagree without placing blame or feeling resentful that things could be different. However, when we begin our walk of grace our perspective broadens. We no longer see them as black sheep but rather as a wonderful combination of YOU-nique colors.
After speaking with my siblings about feeling as though I were the Black Sheep I discovered that they also felt like an outsider in their own way! This discovery helped me to realize that those YOU-nique character traits that made us individuals were not faults at all. In painting, black can be created by combining all of the colors of the rainbow. It’s not a coincidence that combining the colors of your quirks can lead to being a Black Sheep. When we accept that in ourselves, it’s so much easier to accept it in others and to step into that Place of Grace.