of talents and clay

There is something that you probably don't want to find out about me by experiential knowledge.

I can't sing.

Oh I can hold a tune just fine when I sing in choir and in small groups, but there is a reason I don't sing solos in church.

Not that I don't want make a joyful noise to the Lord, but everyone should else view my noise as joyful not as a trial to joyfully endure.

I love music though. I turn it on first thing in the morning to set the mood for the day. When I clean house I listen to one type of music. When I want to relax I listen to another genre and Sunday morning has its own special blend I listen too as I prepare for cooperate worship.

In the days of my youth I loved being in musicals and I lived for singing in choirs, but I quietly watched my friends around me do great things with their musical talents that I did not have.

I know many who use their gift of music to serve others. People are blessed and encouraged when my friends sing.

God gave them a gift, but its not my gift.

One year I was excused from choir, because my voice just wasn't up to par and those around me couldn't support me enough. Not going with the choir on tour was a bitter disappointment.

Interestingly though while the choir toured the country I spent those weeks caring for my cousins.

My beautiful cousins who I have the privilege of being their hands, feet, and voice. I push their wheelchairs around the block and they hang with me in the kitchen and giggle at the enormous messes I make.

And when I'm with them I have the time of my life.

And so that summer while the choir enjoyed using their musical talents for the glory of God I also enjoyed using my gifts to serve others.

I'm not less of a person for not having the gifts everyone else has.

When I sing with others their beautiful harmony, covers up the fact I don't always know the right pitch. Together we intertwine our gifts and together we glorify God.

God has molded all of us out of the same clay, but we all molded for a different purpose. Each of our purposes is beautiful. Maybe we painfully lack a skill, but someone else has the skill we need. And the Potter takes those skills and puts them together to make something wonderful.

In reality we are all broken pieces. Individual slivers of talents that do great things, but profit little when never used together in the body of Christ.

God has given us all something we are good at, but comparison of talents can be the wall that hinders us from using that gift.

 Sometimes God asks us to do things were not good at, but we shouldn't shrink in horror because God is going to stretch us and make us do things we never thought possible.

And all we need to is just be still and let God do the work. He never botches a job.

Words inspired after listening to a presentation on how a potter molds clay into various shapes for his purpose and the comparison of God molding our lives like clay.