Tigers

Last week I had several conversations about why we are the way we are - why do we like something that others don't - why aren't we good at things that others are - why do some things get our blood boiling while others don't seem affected - why am I different - and so on and so on and.... And throughout those conversations I was reminded of the tigers we saw on our zooapalooza. Yes, tigers, the largest of the big cats. The Siberian tiger is the largest of all - growing up to eleven feet long and 455 pounds. Tigers have great night vision and they are very sneaky. Although the Siberian tiger once roamed throughout Siberia, it's habitat is decreasing and so now it lives in the cold, northeastern part of China and the far eastern part of Russia. Adult tigers live solitary lives and each one claims its own territory - between 174 square miles (females) and 772 square miles (males). This would be a good time for me to discuss the reasons why males need so much more space but that is not why tigers popped into my head. It is because of their stripes. Tigers are so beautiful - the colors, the stripes, the muscles and majesty. But let's focus on the stripes. No two tigers have the same stripe pattern. That's right, no two are alike. Each and every tiger is unique! God made them that way. And wouldn't you know, He made us that way too! No, not the stripes but the uniqueness. He knit each of us together, individually, uniquely, personally, wonderfully. So, next time you are met with the why-are-we-the-way-we-are questions just think of tigers and the beauty that comes from being unique. Then thank God for the stripes!