A Dream Multiplied is a Talent Well Used

There is value in keeping little scraps of paper and old tattered journals. I only wished I had realized how valuable before too much life rushed by. I think back to my childhood journals and tattered paper scraps. I remember the pencil-shaped indentation and callouses on the second finger of my writing hand. My skin was discolored from the pencil dust and flaking yellow paint from my favorite classic Number 2 pencils. I would wear the pencils down to nubs, writing sometimes for hours at a time. I can recall the feeling of the scribbled words on the paper and in my mind's eye, I can see flashes of stories created with looping text and poetic frame. For as long as I can remember, I loved to write.

My mother shared a similar love. We would talk about our unwritten novels and imagined bestsellers. We created Pen Names we might use if only our dream could be realized. My mother's names were always the most creative. If I were a fiction writer, I might use her favorite someday. It still fills me with all kinds of sweetness to remember. The year before my mother died, she thought it might be our story of growing together as best friends after years of teenage and young adult conflict and separation that would be our combined best seller. We were not able to make the dream a reality.  

I am writing this on a Sunday and our morning sermon hurled me right back to the place of remembering and wondering if this dream of writing is a dream or a calling  The sermon was based on the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30).  In the parable, three servants are given talents to care for while the master is gone. The one who had five talents traded them and doubled what was given to him (Matthew 25:16).  The person who was given two talents also doubled the number of talents (Matthew 25:17). The person who was given one talent hid it and when asked why responded from a place of fear (Matthew 25:18, 24, 25).

The pastor asked us to think about what it is we love to do and what it is that God has equipped us to do. We were challenged to consider if we are honoring God by using our gifts and talents to bless others and if we are using our talents to bring glory to God or to ourselves.  Just like the talents that were given to each person in the parable, we too are expected to do something with the gifts that God has given us. 

There are some talents that I have found a place to use and utilize with ease. And, though I try to say yes when asked to serve, even if it is a new area for me, today I found myself relating most to the servant with one talent. There are some gifts that I am simply afraid to try to use. A giant capital F for FAILURE looms heavy over my head and heart and I waiver and hide. The love for and gift of writing is the talent that flashed before my eyes today and a shadow of contemplation moved across my heart. I can't tell you how many times I have posed with frozen fingers on the keyboard of my computer. Mind numb with fear that I might say the wrong thing or have nothing worthwhile to say at all. 

Today, I felt both convicted and free. Convicted because I let fear reside in a place where Christ has declared me to be filled with his love, leaving no room for fear (1 John 4:18). Free, because I realized that God's word does not declare me a failure. God simply asks for my talents to be used to care for and love his people and to bring glory to Him. It may not be a novel that the Lord has in mind for my future and if it is, no pen name is required. It may be a handwritten card for a hurting friend, a text of encouragement, a well-written letter or email for my job, ghostwriting for someone else who doesn't have the words to express their heart or to tell their story, or a blogpost that serves as a reminder of all the Lord has done throughout my life. 

So, today I unearth this singular talent and send it out, having already doubled blessing in my soul. 

Photo by Jordan Rowland on Unsplash