A student in a biology class was given the assignment to learn about birds. He was to learn the classification, the scientific name, the common name and characteristics of all the birds. The professor said, “Learn everything about them.”
On the day of the exam, the student was horrified when he looked at the test asking him to identify the birds pictured from their knees down. He knew the birds well, but he couldn’t identify any of them from their knees down. He tossed his paper onto the pile of exams on the instructor’s table and explained his frustration.
The unsympathetic professor said, “Well, you’ll just have to take a zero. I told you to learn everything about them. What’s your name?”
The boy reached down and pulled up his pants to his knees and said, “You tell me!”
There is only one you. And there is only one me. God has made each of us unique. Scientists can tell us apart because we have our own DNA. Mothers can tell us apart because they know their own children. Dogs can tell us apart because we each smell different.
Some days, we might not feel all that special or different from the people around us. But Jesus told us that the Father sees each sparrow fall. (Matthew 10:29) If he knows the birds so well, then he knows what is happening in our lives. He made us and he loves us. Some days, we just need to remember that God’s love and care are enough.