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Talent and Time

By Suzette Horyza

(Excerpt from a presentation given about Stewardship at St. Isidore Parish, November 2, 2008)

Imagine you are standing in a room and God walks in.  God is carrying a huge gift box, beautifully wrapped, and topped with bows and ribbons.  God walks toward you and places that box at your feet.  God smiles and says to you “My beloved child, I have brought you your divine inheritance.  Inside you will find all the gifts and talents you will need for your time on earth.  I ask three things regarding this gift box.”

“First, I ask you to open the box and return to it often during your lifetime.  You will find that I will continue to fill it with gifts you will use during different times in your life.”

“Second, I ask you to appreciate your gifts.  They were especially designed just for you.  They are your unique gifts.  Don’t compare them to your brothers and sisters. I have created gift boxes for them as well.  Just be grateful for all that I have given you.”

“And third, I ask that you use these gifts to the very best of your ability to serve others and bring them closer to Me.”

Can you imagine such a box?  Well we do indeed have gifts and talents in abundance.  It is up to us to look inside that box and treasure and use what it is we’ve been given.  How do we do that?  First, by spending time with God.  After all, it is God who designed each and every gift we have been given.  When we receive a present for our birthday or Christmas and aren’t sure how to use it, what do we do?  We read the instructions.  Well God is the one who provides us with instructions for the gifts He gives us.  The first step is to spend quality time with God.  We need to listen to His voice of guidance.  He might guide us by having a person come into our lives who points out our gifts.  We might discover our gifts through struggles and challenges in our lives.  Those are the times we learn that we have strength and talents we never knew existed.  Or perhaps we take part in a program or class where God can show us what gifts we have and how to use them.  At St. Isidore, we have a program entitled “Called and Gifted” that helps illuminate our gifts and shows us ways to use them at church as well as in the larger community. 

Once we discover our gifts and spend time with God learning how it is we are supposed to use them, the next logical step is spending time sharing our gifts with others. You see with gifts from God, if we hoard them, they are not put to their proper use.  They whither and die on the vine.  But when we share them, it is called dancing in our gifts.  You will feel a peace and joy that no earthly gift can ever provide.  That is the beauty of God’s gifts.  When we share them, we become more fully alive.  We know the bliss that only God can provide. 

Begin today by opening your gift box.  Think back throughout your life to determine what were the gifts you’ve been given so far.  Be open to the new gifts God has prepared for you.  Celebrate and be grateful for your talents and gifts.  Don’t compare them with others.  Each of us has been given exactly what we need by a Creator that loves each of us abundantly.  Spend time with God listening to His voice and heeding His guidance.  You can be sure that you will eventually be led to dance in your gifts to touch the lives of others.  They will in turn, touch your life.  That is the beauty of gifts.

I’ll close with a scripture that ties all of this together.  It is 1 Peter 4:10  “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 

The wisdom of our elders is something to be treasured and learned from.  I’ve had the blessing and good fortune to travel with senior citizens for all of my adult life.  The experiences and wisdom I have gained from them is immeasurable.  I was sitting here thinking of things that I’ve learned from the time I’ve spent with my elders. I thought I would share just a few of them with you…

¨      Give thanks for the little things in life

¨      Don’t collect too much junk

¨      Don’t miss an opportunity to see something that might be interesting

¨      Don’t wait.  Don’t put off things you think you’ll get around to later.  Sometimes later doesn’t come.

¨      Laugh…and laugh some more

¨      People who like it at home should stay home (that advice was given to me by a world traveler who had no patience for people who complained!)

¨      Blow the diet if a piece of Bubba’s chocolate pie is on the menu.

¨      Learn the value of saving so one day it can be shared with those you love

¨      Don’t be afraid to share your talents.  If God gave it to you, share it with others!

¨      Other people will support you if you want to overcome your fears.  Just let them know.

¨      Some places you least expect turn out to be exciting

¨      Some places you expect to be fabulous turn out to be duds

¨      Try not to expect…just experience and trust God!

¨      Life goes by more quickly than you think.  Enjoy as much of it as you can.

¨      Every day, give gratitude to God for all He has given you!

Stay tuned for upcoming events

Did you ever notice how two people can look at the same thing and come to completely different conclusions?  That happened to me once on a flight I was taking with my family.  My mom, sister and nephew sat across the aisle from my niece and me.  The flight did not get off to a good start.  As we started to accelerate for take-off, the pilot had to slam on the brakes.  Something about another plane crossing the runway in front of us.  When we started again, the man sitting next to me felt prompted to share tales of previous close calls he’d had on flights.  That didn’t make me any calmer.   Then the fun really began when we actually took off.  We hit turbulence, the likes of which I had never before encountered.  It was rough and endless.  As I held my niece’s hand, I tried to appear calm and collected for her sake as well as mine.  But inside I was begging God to get us safely home.  There were moments when I had my doubts that those prayers were going to be answered.  During all of this turbulence, I looked across the aisle.  My mom and sister were pale.  They were white knuckling the armrests.  We gave each other one of those weak sympathetic smiles you give when you don’t know what else to do.  But between them sat my 3-year-old nephew.  He had the biggest smile on his face. He was giggling and his eyes were just sparkling.  His little hands gripped the arm rests-not in fear-but as though he was trying to steer the plane himself.  When we finally landed I needed a ginger ale to settle my stomach.  I also gave thanks to God for answering my prayers.  My nephew’s response was a bit different.  He said gleefully, “That was fun!!  Can we do that again?”  From my perspective I had survived a near death experience.  To my nephew, the flight had been a giant amusement park ride specially designed for him.  The same situation…two different perspectives.

I wonder to myself, do I sometimes look at situations especially the lessons that God is trying to teach me as experiences to be endured instead of something to be enjoyed?  At the very least, is there something in this circumstance that I can learn from and for which I can give thanks?  How can I try to adopt my nephew’s perspective and have a child’s trust and joy in what the circumstance or situation is trying to provide?  I think one of the answers lie in the scripture  “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11. 

We are all God’s daughters and sons.  God wants to give us the best and provide us with a future.  It doesn’t mean we won’t have turbulence in our lives.  That will come, as certainly as sunny, calm days will.  In everything we need to remember that becoming like children, trusting and delighting in God is one of the best ways to change our perspective. 

This story I wrote is not related to a travel experience, but I felt like it was something I would like to share here on this blog.  It seems to be applicable to many of us in life...no matter what the season.  I hope you enjoy...Suzette

Springtime is the season of rebirth and new growth.  It sounds so bright and cheerful, doesn't it?  In the end it certainly is but just as it is for plants that bloom in the spring, there are times when we need to be repotted before we can grow.  Let me tell you a story.

            A friend shared some difficult times that were happening at work.  Like so many businesses, economic conditions were placing her employer in a difficult position.  Jobs had to be eliminated, salaries were frozen and hiring was out of the question.  It was painful for all involved.  For those who were let go and for those who remained, nothing seemed bright or positive.

            As she shared her story, it reminded me of when I repotted my houseplants.  One plant in particular, when pulled from its pot, was nothing but a tangle of roots in dry, caked soil.  New growth was not possible because there was nothing to allow it to grow.  Delicately, I cleaned off the roots and then took the risk of separating the plant into several pieces.   I placed the sections in new pots.  The remainder of the original plant was put back into the same pot after it had been cleaned out and filled with new soil.  I said a prayer and hoped for the best for all of the new growths.  Amazingly, in the days ahead, all the sections began to thrive.  For the health of this plant, the pruning and change needed to be done.  Because of this, growth for all could occur.

            That is what God does in our lives.  Sometime we get rootbound and cannot grow.  God, the Master Gardener has to step in and make some necessary changes to the root system.  Sometimes it means breaking apart established aspects of our lives.  But in His hands we can be assured that the ones who remain and the ones who are planted in new pots will be equally watched over by the One who has the Master Plan.

Letting go and giving control to God is never easy.  But the new life that comes from change can make all the difference in the rebirth and renewal of our lives.

I need to confess something right off.  When I was in college studying for my degree in Recreation, I wanted to be Julie McCoy.  For those of you too young to remember she was the cruise director on the television program “The Love Boat.”  I thought that was the coolest job…travel on a ship, meet people, wear pretty clothes and welcome people on board and bid them farewell at the end of each cruise.  Well God has a funny sense of humor because I came close.  Instead of cruise director, I became a bus director instead.  I still get to travel, meet people and help them enjoy their trip.  Instead of a ship as my mode of travel it is generally a bus. 

But I learned something about life while traveling on a cruise.  I’ve come to the conclusion that life in many ways is like a cruise.  You come onboard usually with people you love.  You then travel to different destinations.  Some ports are fabulous.  You want to stay or at least return for a visit.  There are other ports you’re not to certain about but you visit anyway.  You make some memories, take some photos, and get back onboard.  And there are some ports you prefer, if possible, not to ever visit again.  Buy the t-shirt that says “I survived the…” and then leave.  One time there is hopefully enough.  While traveling, the ship sails sometimes through calm seas, and at other times the waves feel like they are about to knock the ship overboard.  There is one constant during this whole journey.  There is one person on a ship we look to who will chart the course and get us where we need to be.  That person is the Captain.  We put our faith and trust in the captain’s ability to chart the course and get us safely where we need to be.  In life too we have a Captain.  That’s God.  He’s the one who knows the course our lives should take.

Now something I’ve never seen happen on a cruise.  Picture it; the ship is sailing on course bound for a destination.  Suddenly a passenger takes it upon himself to go up to the bridge door, knock and say to the captain “Uh, excuse me captain.  I noticed you were heading the ship in this particular direction.  I think that if you turned the ship just a bit to the right and headed east, we’d get to our port so much quicker and easier.”  Something tells me that directive might not be received very well.  Now I can’t speak for anyone else, but I have found myself doing this with the Captain of my life.  I don’t hesitate at times to tell Him exactly where I think my ship should be headed.  The beauty of God is that He doesn’t send me back and lock me in my cabin.  Sometimes He lets me steer the ship where I think it should go.  The funny thing is, in those moments I usually end up running the boat aground.  What I am trying very hard to learn is to have complete and total trust in the Captain of my ship, the Guide of my life.  He already knows what is best for me as well as how to guide me through the roughest of seas.  My job is to let Him do that for me.  It makes the trip so much more scenic and beautiful.