What are Your talents?

I made it to church today...two weeks in a row! I'm on a roll! lol We went because my daughter really, really wanted to go. Me, I had a headache and I pulled a muscle in my neck doing planks...don't ask, ugh. I'm probably the only one who has accomplished that feat! Anyway, I wasn't really feeling like going, but my daughter convinced me we should go, so we did. I'm not sure why I fight it so hard every week. I definitely have some rebellion in me! Everytime we go to church, I leave there feeling inspired by something that was said. Today, it was a lesson about talents.

First, let me say, there are some very inspiring, strong, amazing and spiritual women that I go to church with and I consider to be my friends. Everyone has talents. These talents are gifts from God and we are blessed to have them and obligated to use them for good and to make them grow.

Some talents are very obvious. Singing, playing a musical instrument, poetry, painting, public speaking, teaching, etc. Other talents are things that most of us don't even think of being a talent. Patience, being uplifting and inspiring, humor, surgeon, scientist, compassion, etc. These things are all needed to make our world better. Can you imagine a world without those that make us laugh? What if those very funny people didn't work on growing their talent. The world would be a sad place with no laughter.

My son is very visual. He can take things apart and put them back together. If someone shows him how to build something, he can do it better than anyone ever expected. He is very precise and a perfectionist. It has to be just so. If he expands on that and continues to make it grow, he can make that talent into something amazing...like being an engineer or an architect or build rockets. My daughter is more into the artistic side of life. I can totally picture her being an actress. She definitely has the flare for the dramatic! She can also paint, draw and she has dabbled in writing some poetry.

I also believe that our talents manifest themselves in the time of our lives that is right for us. For instance, I never in a million years would have pictured myself being able to write a blog or write poetry. I never thought I had any writing talent at all. Granted, I have no formal training and I am not great at it, but I think I'm not too bad at it. I've written 3 poems, one of them was read at the funeral of a coworker. When I was in high school, I used to sing. I did solos and duets in church, I was first chair alto in choir at school, solos in talent shows, funerals and weddings and I sang a solo for Honor Day for High School Graduation. Over the years, due to me not working on my talent and getting older, I have lost my voice. I don't sing like I used to. My voice is weak, I don't have the range or power I used to and I would die if I had to sing a solo now. Now, I stick to singing in the shower or with the radio and annoying those around me!

How do we find our talents? I think having a desire to do something is a start. A friend of mine shared today that she always wanted to be a writer, but she didn't pursue it...she buried it. Now, in this time of her life, the desire to be a writer has grown stronger so she is pursuing it. She is meeting with people who are teaching her how to grow that talent and are encouraging her to continue on. She has the DESIRE. Learning is another way to find our talents. We can learn things and realize that we had a talent that was hidden. We continue to make those talents grow by using them and continuing to learn. Also, not being afraid to share our talents. I know I have some talents I love to share with everyone. Other talents I'm very shy about sharing. Another way to find our talents is to listen to friends and family. They see things in us that we ourselves don't see. We also should give encouragement to each other to grow our talents!

So what are your talents? Find them, grow them and share them!