We ended up at Longwood Plantation. Longwood is a six-story plantation home that is GORGEOUS...as you can see in the picture. As soon as you walk inside, though, it is readily apparent that the awesome six-story home....isn't finished. In fact, only the basement was completed before the owner lost his multi-millions in the Civil War. So his family lived in the basement with the main five floors never completed. As you can see, it looks completed on the outside, but if you walk inside the door, all you will see is subflooring, brick walls, and very rickety looking 2x4's everywhere. It is on the National Historical Register, so it will never have the opportunity to be completed as the owner wanted it to be.
What a disappointment for the owner to reach the end of his life and realize he was never able to complete what would have been a beautiful accomplishment. Which leads to something that I've been considering over the last few weeks....
How many of us will reach the end of our lives, only to realize that we never used even half of the gifts and talents that God gave us.
Ephesians says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with EVERY spiritual blessing in Christ."
In Matthew's Parable of the Talents, a man entrusts his servants with "talents" before leaving on a long journey, "each according to his own ability (25:15)".
Consider the word 'talent' as being the gifts and abilities that God gives us that are unique to each of us and suddenly this passage that I've read hundreds of times has a whole new meaning.
16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
21His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
22The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
23His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
24Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' 26His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
How many people will reach the end of their lives and realize that they've "hidden their talents" in the ground and not used them the way God intended. Or that they've used one of the talents, but left 3 others completely unexplored.
So perhaps you'll ask the question I was asking at the beginning of this summer...how do I know what talents God wants me to use?
I'm definitely not at the end of this journey yet, but one thing I have definitely learned over the last two months...talents are the things that you can look back in your life and recognize those areas that you felt unexplained JOY in doing.
I've been playing the piano since I was 3 years old....as long as I can physically remember. And I've made a career out of playing and teaching the piano...I've developed and used that talent the best way that I know how.
But in the last year, I've had the distinct feeling that I was missing out on something...that there was more, but I just didn't know how to reach out and grab it. So I started thinking about moments in my life that caused me unexplained joy. Suddenly I realized how much I missed writing. I LOVE writing. So this blog is my venture into trying to develop that 'gift.' I also LOVED graphic design in high school. I co-edited the yearbook, spent hours doing lay-outs on the computer, and worked at the town's newspaper doing ad lay-outs after school. So I've ventured into photography and web design this summer in an effort to develop those skills more.
And you know what...I find myself completely and totally excited about everything I'm doing! I feel like I have a new lease on life...and I truly believe that is a direct result of "putting those talents to work" that God has given me. And I hope and pray that these talents will glorify the Owner...just as those who invested did in the parable.
Just as God always does, He has re-affirmed these thoughts by causing me to 'randomly' pick up a Max Lucado book called Cure for the Common Life. EVERYONE should read this book. God is reaffirming on every page that He has given us gifts that show up even in the earliest years of life. And that by identifying and using those gifts, we can live lives of joy and freedom.
So pick up the Lucado book at the library and get ready for a life-changing experience. I pray that you will discover and develop the gifts that are unique to you and experience the greatest life possible - and hear God say at the pearly gates that you were faithful with what He so graciously gave you on this earth.
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