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| Photo by Stuart Miles freedigitalphotos.net |
At church Sunday, the preacher spoke about the parable of the talents from Luke 19. You know the one where the king leaves three of his servants money while he goes away. When the king comes back, two of the servants had used their money to make more money for the king. The third servant was afraid to even invest his money to earn the king interest and buried his money to keep it safe.
Here's the thing...the king didn't want his money back. He wanted productivity. He doesn't want us to keep to ourselves what He has given. He wants us to be bold and brave.
But sometimes being brave is hard. What if we try and fail?
The question of failing shows our misunderstanding. Failure is not really failure. The end result may not look like what we expected, but it is in the trying...the journey...where our success lies. It is what we learn on the journey. It is the truths we uncover in the process.
To play it safe is not safe. It is when we open up completely, giving all of ourselves and pursuing the purpose laid out for us that we find the blessing.
And remember, when we are giving of ourselves and blessing others, we make God smile.
So if you are thinking about beginning a writing career, or if you have been on the writing journey for quite some time, don't be afraid. Just write. Just pour the story of your heart onto the page, knowing that the process is a blessing. A blessing for you and a success to God.
What are you afraid of? What is it that you really fear?
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This post is brought to you by
Sherrinda Ketchersid
Sherrinda is a minister's wife and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.
Those words were exactly what I needed to hear. As a recovering perfectionist I need that encouragement often. Your words are a blessing. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe sermon last Sunday was exactly this. Our pastor preached about "being bold." October must be Bold month.
ReplyDeleteI should have also answered your question. I fear not living up to the high standard I set for myself so sometimes it's much easier on my spirit not to even try. And I do believe that not using whatever blessings God has given us is a sin.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Sherrinda! if we try and don't achieve what we're striving to attain, is it failure, or is it an opportunity to learn? I'm thinking failure is only a fail if we choose not to learn from the experience or if we give up too soon. I've got to change my mindset in some areas.
ReplyDeleteLoved this. :)
Glynis, this was such an easy post for me to write because Sunday's sermon spoke to me on so many levels. I think we must be twins in that I also fear not living up to my OWN expectations and so I don't even try. I don't want to disappoint myself, you know? But you are right, not using the gifts God has given us is not being a good steward. (((hugs)))
ReplyDeleteHeather, I love it! BOLD is such a great topic and good message for us all. Living bold doesn't mean we don't fear. It means we push through the fear and try boldly. Don't you love it when God sends the same message through different venues?
Jeanne, you are so right! Failure is really not learning from whatever goes wrong. That is definitely a great way to look at it, girl!