I’m Not Every Woman

CHAPTER 1
No One Like You

There are 7.7 billion people on this planet, and over 3 billion are women. Out of those 3 billion women, there is no other woman on this earth exactly like you. There never has been and there never will be. God creates only originals, and you are His unique creation!

It blows my mind to know that femaleness is everywhere, but no two women are alike anywhere. If you were to search the world, you wouldn’t find two women who have the same footprint, handprint, smile, or laughter. Whether you’re a mother, grandmother, stepmom, sister, daughter, auntie, entrepreneur, entertainer, actor, or author, you have an exclusive identity in Christ Jesus, for God does not use a mass production line. You are not a carbon copy. You are not a repeat or a prototype.

On many occasions we’ve been confronted with the notion that “all women are exactly the same.” Attention, men: all women are not the same. It would be a very sad and stunted world if we all were alike. Contrary to popular belief, we are each more different than alike. We are individual women who are as distinct in our uniqueness as our thumbprints.

You’re a woman, but you are not every woman because no two of us are exactly the same. Another woman’s personality, abilities, or biological factors may resemble yours, but she is not you, and you are not her. Even if you have an identical twin with the same DNA and similar features, you are dissimilar because God made only one you.

Being the only you is awesome. You have been different since the day you were born. It’s no mistake that you are formed the way you are. That’s a good thing. Being different is an asset. Being different is not a weakness. These days, I am more than aware that it is an absolute strength.

The key is to decide what is different about you, and then learn to capitalize on it. Pay attention to what you do best, what you bring to the table, what is special about you. The most unique people in the world are the people who fully embrace who they are and are willing to live life according to everything that makes up who they are. Uniqueness is important and should be respected.

Being different won't kill you, but it will get you noticed. Sometimes I wish I were like everyone else, but not really. Because I believe we should be respected for being unique because we're all different in our own ways. This I believe. When we are different from everything else, our uniqueness obliterates all other narratives about us.

I embrace being different because I believe I will bring a vastly different result to society. I enjoy being different because I focus on the positive aspects of how I am different and engage in pursuits that allow me to feel good about myself.

It is the combination of everything you have learned and the various things you have done that make you truly different from everyone else on this planet.

I like the idea that God made me only once. It tells me I was worth the work that first time. Then He threw away that mold because one of me is enough for Him.

I have felt like I was different ever since I was in high school, when my personality started to settle and I came to realize I didn’t look, think, learn, or act like my peers. In high school, I wanted to have a lot of friends and be a part of the popular club. I tried really hard to fit in, but trying to be something I wasn’t became emotionally draining. For a quick minute, I had turned into this person I didn’t like for the sole purpose of “fitting in.” Looking back, I acknowledge that I was trying to lose what made me different from everyone else. I had to choose which type of person I wanted to become. Did I want to be “them” or be “me”? By accepting myself, I came to realize that I am absolutely unique. Not because I am better or worse than anyone else but because there is no one on this earth like me. No other being has my special perspective on life and no one else has exactly the same experiences that I do. I am truly one of a kind—and so are you.

Instead of wishing you were someone else, thank God for making you the person you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re tall, short, wide, or narrow. It doesn’t matter if you have thick hair, thin hair, long hair, or no hair. It doesn’t matter if your skin is light, medium, or dark. No part of you is a mistake. You are a God design with a God-given shape (body, mind, and spirit)—a fabulous pattern that’s a perfect fit for His perfect purpose for you. Awww, yeah! You are the first, last, and only you, and as a believer in Jesus Christ, you are a new creation in Him. So embrace these truths and begin today to appreciate your individuality and love yourself as Christ does.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
– 2 Corinthians 5:15

Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
– Ephesians 4:24