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No matter what your gift is nor how much success
you may have with it, there are times you get discouraged. No matter how
much you enjoy the work, there are times you get weary of it. Once I spoke to a regional meeting of ministers.
At each meal I would be sitting with a different minister. I made it a
point to ask the simple question, “Are you enjoying your work?” To
my surprise, not a one replied with a smiling, enthusiastic “Yes!” They would say things like, “Well, there are
times when it is fulfilling but…” or “Well, the church politics
gets to me but…” or “Well, it certainly has its downside.” I
repeat, not a one was enthusiastic. Paul wrote to young Timothy who was just
starting his ministry, “Rekindle the gift.” No matter how great the
gift, it must be rekindled. No matter how high you are today, you are
going to face challenges that will take away the luster. I like the word “rekindle.” When I was a boy
and we had a fireplace Dad would send me out to cut up some kindling.
These were small slivers and slices of wood that helped him get a good
fire started. He’d roll up a newspaper and stack a little kindling
around it and then lay a big log on top of it all. As the kindling got
going, it would get the log to burning, slowly but surely. No matter how much bliss you find in your work,
the fire is going to get low now and then. I know that from my
songwriting. Sometimes I will get a good idea for a song and my internal
wet blanket will say, “Why write it…it probably won’t sell… no
one will record it” ad infinitum, ad nauseum. The only way to handle
an internal wet blanket is to put some kindling under it and get a fire
going. Unless we become our own best encouragers, we
will falter and fail. It is good to have friends to support us and
appreciate what we do and they can certainly stoke our fires but we must
be our own best friend. It helps to realize what we do well IS a gift.
How many people can write songs? How many people can do what you do? One
thing is for sure: no one can do what you do exactly like you do it and
if you don’t do it, it won’t get done. My mother once told me, “Son, we should not
just tithe our money, we should tithe our time and our talent because if
we don’t do what we are here to do, it will never be done.” Take time to nurture yourself and your gifts.
Gratitude for them is a little pile of kindling. No matter how little or
how great a success we may feel ourselves to be, just be grateful you
are hear to do the work you are gifted to do. Marry your gifts. Dedicate
them for better or worse, for richer or poor. Excuse me now. I’ve got to go cut some more
kindling. ▬▬▬▬▬ All of Dalton’s writings are gathered at www.IPSFeatures.com. Write him at DownhomeP@aol.com or DaltonRoberts@comcast.net. His Website is www.daltonroberts.com.
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