"The Tragedy of the Unopened Gift"

Happy Fall, Y'all!!!!!

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It's Bible Study time here in the big L-R!

My church hosts Bible studies in the fall every year in different people's houses. It's a great time of year. We get to eat and just hang out with great people and worship Him by being in fellowship with fellow believers. It's such a great feeling! And I love my Small Group! Mary, Jennifer, Amanda (the hostess), Shawn, and Vicki are all in our group as of now. Anyway, we are doing a study from the book called, "If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat" by John Ortberg. It's a study about learning to trust God and it centers around Peter's adventure of walking on water.

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How much courage did it take for Peter to step out of the boat with all those other people back in the boat saying--no way, man, there's no way I'm getting out of this boat, I will sink! If I could just remember to keep my eyes on Him...I can only imagine what could be. I try to trust God with my whole heart but it is incredibly difficult. We always want to be in control. As a human being, we feel that we can handle anything that comes our way. But we can't. I can't. I am so incapable of doing the simplest thing without His hands. I truly do not see how people go through the hard times without Him. I can't imagine where I'd be if He wasn't my King.

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Sorry, I got side tracked. Sunday, we talked about gifts. We read Matthew 25:14-30; the story of the talents. Why did he give 5, 2, and 1? Why did the man with the one talent not invest his talent? Why didn't he seize the opportunity he was presented? Fear. Fear of what? Failure? Disappointment?

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Do you have a gift? What is it? You can tell me, really.

Are you doing something with your gift? If so, what? Go on! Tell me! I want to know...

If not, why not? It's ok...

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I have been thinking about my gift since that question was asked. Several answers have gone through my head and I still don't know if any of these are worth mentioning.

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Possible Gifts:

--Singing...I love to sing but I am horribly shy when it comes time to sing in front of others. I consider my voice a blessing that I can share. I love that my mom and I are able to sing together in church every so often. In the end, I'm singing to my Provider, my Comforter, and my Father.

--Children...I cannot express the joy that I feel when I'm with kids. I am definitely a kid at heart even though I'm only 21. I love their lust for life! Nothing is wrong in their world. The innocence in their smiles. Their carefree laughter. *Sigh* I wish I was 5.

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I'm so blind to myself. Do you have any suggestions? What are my gifts? I really want to know!

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I'd like to share a beautiful quote from author Gregg Levoy, entitled "The Tragedy of the Unopened Gift".

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"To sinful patterns of behavior that never get confronted and changed,

Abilities and gifts that never get cultivated and deployed --

Until weeks become months

And months turn into years,

And one day you're looking back on a life of

Deep, intimate, gut-wrenchingly honest conversations you never had;

Great bold prayers you never prayed,

Exhilarating risks you never took,

Sacrificial gifts you never offered,

Lives you never touched,

And you're sitting in a recliner with a shriveled soul,

And forgotten dreams, and you realize there was a world of desperate need,

And a great God calling you to be part of something bigger than yourself --

You see the person you could have become but did not;

You never followed your calling.

You never got out of the boat.

--Gregg Levoy

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I'm going to make a conscious effort to step out of my boat. Step out into unfamiliar territory and follow God's plan for my life. Follow my dreams. Do everything that I can for Him so I can hear the words that many before me have already heard, including my own father.

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"Well done, my good and faithful servant."

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Everyone has a gift. It is most likely that you have more than one gift. What's yours?