Talent

Earlier this week I walked into one of the most luxurious car dealerships in my city to visit some old friends I had not seen for more than two years. As I approached the entrance, I asked the person at the front door how his day was going. He told me it was cloudier than it looked. It turns out that he had just come out of a meeting where he was told big changes were coming to his store. There were some sad faces all around me.

I waited for my friend to come out of his meeting and I was the first person he encountered after getting the news of the storm that was coming his way. Surprisingly, his attitude was very upbeat. His future was uncertain but he did not seem to mind. He shared a story about a visitor that came to his church to speak a couple of weeks ago. This man was born with no arms or legs and every service he spoke at was standing room only. This man had some kind of special talent for inspiring those of us with arms and legs to use them.

Last night, a family member called to ask me if I had heard about the "blade runner" (he is pictured at the left), an Olympic hopeful who was born with no legs. His event? Track! The story is that the suits don't think it is fair for this man to compete because his blades are so superior to the legs you and I were born with.

This athlete decided to try track when a rugby injury knocked him out of that sport. He does not let "obstacles" like being born with no legs stop him from using his talent.

There is a story in the Bible about three people who were given "talent". Two of the people doubled the talent they were given, although the talent was distributed in unequal amounts. The third man buried his talent so that he could return it to his master unused. He was not given as much talent as the first two and probably did not think he could really do much with it.

When the master returned to check on his investment, he rewarded the two who increased the talent with more talent. He scolded the one who buried his talent and took it away.

Even if you have been born with no arms or legs, there is talent inside of you. Maybe it is your ability to inspire others to use their arms and legs? The challenge is to avoid burying your talent. It was given to you for a purpose. Don't waste it. Develop it and share it. Have a great weekend.

Here is an awesome video of a senior high school player displaying his hidden talent for the first time at the final game of the year...