This is one of those things I know in my head (we all have different gifts!) but always struggle with in my heart (I should be doing XYZ, like that person!) So thank you for the good reminder. We each have giftings and they deserve to be honed.
Another quote from Madeleine L'Engle, in Walking on Water: “Christian art? Art is art; painting is painting; music is music; a story is a story. If it’s bad art, it’s bad religion, no matter how pious the subject.”
Still trying to figure out my gifts. I suspect they've changed through the different seasons of my life. Thanks for corralling your thoughts to stimulate ours!
I have always loved carols like The Little Drummer Boy and In the Bleak Midwinter because they have this message imbedded in them. We have different gifts to give, the difficult thing is sometimes figuring out what it is. And what to do when it isn’t the gift you wanted to have or others wanted you to have. Or if it isn’t a flashy, sensational gift. But God didn’t give us these gifts to make us famous. By sharing them we point back to Him. They are gifts and a struggle.
In high school I was in choir and I enjoyed singing. (I still do enjoy it.) I was in show choir as well. Every year I auditioned for the All-State Choir competition and two years in a row I even went to a choir camp over the summer that practiced some of the pieces in advance. For some reason, I never made state. I don’t know if I had issues with my audition pieces or if there were too many first sopranos and the competition was too steep or what. I bristled when friends and acquaintances made it, some of them were very talented and some honestly, didn’t sing as well as I did and it drove me a bit crazy. My director, accompanist, the people at the camp all told me I sang well. They expressed surprise that I don’t make it year after year. What was I to do with that? Well, at some point I decided God was teaching me some humility and that His plan didn’t include competitive singing. I decided to continue to sing my best, I sang in church choir throughout college and into adulthood. I sing with my children. At church, people comment on my voice from time to time, but I feel like I am just offering it back to the One who gave it to me. Is it a particularly good voice? I don’t know. It never made it to state. But it is the only one I have.
The final verse of In The Bleak Midwinter kept running through my head as I pondered this post!
Your story of singing brings back one of my old desires—I wanted to be in the college chorale like my parents had been, but was only “good enough” for the chapel choir. I tried out for solos for church productions and rarely got one. I loved to sing (still do!), but kept getting a no there, too. I think like you God was giving me a lesson in humility.
I suspect that I’m going to be mulling over that quote about the wine press for awhile! I think often I lack the wisdom or clarity to know the difference between that refining sort of struggle and the struggle of trying to work outside my gifting…
That’s true—trying to assess the difference can be tricky. I feel like the one side brings a sense of joy with it, even in the struggle. The other just feels like flailing, or like you’re weighted with a load of guilt because you can’t make it work.
This is one of those things I know in my head (we all have different gifts!) but always struggle with in my heart (I should be doing XYZ, like that person!) So thank you for the good reminder. We each have giftings and they deserve to be honed.
Another quote from Madeleine L'Engle, in Walking on Water: “Christian art? Art is art; painting is painting; music is music; a story is a story. If it’s bad art, it’s bad religion, no matter how pious the subject.”
I love how different artists have tapped into this truth—I’d forgotten L’Engle’s input!
I need the reminder often, too. There are definitely times when I feel I’m beating back the “must do or you’re not a good Christian” lie.
Still trying to figure out my gifts. I suspect they've changed through the different seasons of my life. Thanks for corralling your thoughts to stimulate ours!
That’s true! They do shift at times. And that’s okay, too!
I have always loved carols like The Little Drummer Boy and In the Bleak Midwinter because they have this message imbedded in them. We have different gifts to give, the difficult thing is sometimes figuring out what it is. And what to do when it isn’t the gift you wanted to have or others wanted you to have. Or if it isn’t a flashy, sensational gift. But God didn’t give us these gifts to make us famous. By sharing them we point back to Him. They are gifts and a struggle.
In high school I was in choir and I enjoyed singing. (I still do enjoy it.) I was in show choir as well. Every year I auditioned for the All-State Choir competition and two years in a row I even went to a choir camp over the summer that practiced some of the pieces in advance. For some reason, I never made state. I don’t know if I had issues with my audition pieces or if there were too many first sopranos and the competition was too steep or what. I bristled when friends and acquaintances made it, some of them were very talented and some honestly, didn’t sing as well as I did and it drove me a bit crazy. My director, accompanist, the people at the camp all told me I sang well. They expressed surprise that I don’t make it year after year. What was I to do with that? Well, at some point I decided God was teaching me some humility and that His plan didn’t include competitive singing. I decided to continue to sing my best, I sang in church choir throughout college and into adulthood. I sing with my children. At church, people comment on my voice from time to time, but I feel like I am just offering it back to the One who gave it to me. Is it a particularly good voice? I don’t know. It never made it to state. But it is the only one I have.
The final verse of In The Bleak Midwinter kept running through my head as I pondered this post!
Your story of singing brings back one of my old desires—I wanted to be in the college chorale like my parents had been, but was only “good enough” for the chapel choir. I tried out for solos for church productions and rarely got one. I loved to sing (still do!), but kept getting a no there, too. I think like you God was giving me a lesson in humility.
“Even if you have no current ability to write anything longer than a journal entry, stay faithful to that assignment.”
— Andi Ashworth
I suspect that I’m going to be mulling over that quote about the wine press for awhile! I think often I lack the wisdom or clarity to know the difference between that refining sort of struggle and the struggle of trying to work outside my gifting…
That’s true—trying to assess the difference can be tricky. I feel like the one side brings a sense of joy with it, even in the struggle. The other just feels like flailing, or like you’re weighted with a load of guilt because you can’t make it work.
I think that’s true, or at least it’s supposed to be true. Maybe it’s just that anxiety clouds or confuses that sense of joy… 🤔
Loren,
I enjoy reading the expressions of your gift of writing. And can testify toyour gift for preparing delicious meals.
As for my gifts? Appreciating the works of gifted writers, artists, and musicians.
And I am handy with sewing and creating things . Which have seen called upon for various church plays and more recently for Trunk-n-Treat.
And God has given me a large home in which to practice hospitality ..
You use your gifts so well, Jodi! We’ve been blessed by them over the years!
Aww, shucks
Amen to all this!