I need to stop saying what I'm going to write about on the next day as it seems I never do it! Changing promised topics!...again.
On my list of things I want to accomplish, in this wonderful new year, is developing my talents. That is hard for me to even write- my talents. I am not formally trained in any specifics that would normally be thought of as a talent! All around me I see people that have visible talents. It's been difficult for me to zero in on what a talent of mine would be. I've been very reluctant to acknowledge, even to myself, that I have talents. And yet on my list for this year, there it was...
TALENTS- develop talents. Write books.
That is a huge stretch of faith to even put that down and yet it is there. Why do I even put it out there?
Because I'm serious on many levels about the rest of my mortal adventure and being everything that is mine to do/be. Areas that need to be explored and enlarged and developed as fully as possible.
When I joined the Church, all those many years ago, my first calling was to teach the Co-Pilots. Preparing 7 years old for baptism during that year. I told the Bishop...I am not a teacher. Meaning I'm not a certified school teacher. He smilingly said... You don't have to be a "teacher". Just read the book and tell them the stories and sing with them. This entire call terrified me as I'd never taught anything. ever. and I knew nothing about the Gospel or how to read music and sing songs I'd never heard in my life. I ended up loving my class and loving to learn about the Gospel and to prepare them for baptism. It was the perfect calling for me. I learned that I loved to teach the Gospel.
I do wish that he'd explained the lay ministry but more than anything, I would have benefited from being taught about the Holy Ghost, and His aid in assisting us, in all our Church callings. I've learned that lesson for myself, there is spiritual help available and that is why we can be called to do something, that we have no skills or experience in, and succeed in spite of ourselves.
Most of my Church life has been spent in areas with small congregations and in the Mission field. The Lord only has so many people to draw on, in trained talent, in small areas from that small roster. Sometimes we are asked to do things, beyond our scope of ability/experience, and it's exciting when the Spirit fills in the gaps.
As I wrote down the fact that I want to write books...starting with a book of essays and also a children's book about the Gospel...it startled me. It is truly a leap of faith...both acknowledging it out loud by telling you and then the really big stomach churning leap...actually doing it!!
In mulling this over I thought of several things.
I remembered a talk from 1976 given by Elder Packer at BYU. Called The Arts & the Spirit of the Lord. It was an address to those that have been blessed with marvelous artistic talents/gifts and how they should be used and also a fair amount of chastisement for using their abilities for success in the world and neglecting spiritual matters of sharing in the Church. Well, that is my take. You read it. It's Feb 1, 1976.
I was sort of taken aback by his frank talk to these folks but I was not in that group of the gifted in the way he mentioned, so I was just listening with interest. What did peak me was his mention of...
Inspiration can come to those whose talents are barely adequate
and
If we know nothing of the arts, we know something of the Spirit. We know that it can be drawn upon meagerly or almost to the consuming of an individual.
It's only taken 39 years for me to decide I will test the water! IF there is something for me to write then I will exercise faith and seek the Spirit and attempt to do it. I have confidence that the Spirit will help me as I've experienced His help in Church callings in the past.
I also remembered incidences of that help over the years.
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