WATCHWORD:
God has given gifts to each of you from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you. 1 Peter 4:10
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 1 Cor. 12:7
11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. 1 Cor. 12:11
Meditation:
Creative Living
The other day I visited a friend of mine. As I walked into his living room, there he was, sitting on a couch, a ukulele in his hand, and how-to-play books scattered around. He was teaching himself how to play the uke. I thought how cool is this.
My friend has had a very successful business life, has a large and loving family, and despite the fact that he has suffered a number of strokes, is the kind of person that you really enjoy being with. And there he was plunking out “my dog has fleas”, but the fleas were just a little off key. But that didn’t matter.
We spent a bit of time talking nonsense and family, and just general stuff. We touched on some personal matters and we exchanged some observations, some of which struck close to home. As I drove away, I thought about his last comment to me, which, in my mind, had to do with creative living.
I don’t know how you would define creative living, but I think a lot of it has to do with having the courage to act on God-given graces, whatever they are. Somewhere I read that creative living had to do with having the courage to bring forth the treasures hidden within you. I rather like that. Treasures hidden within each one of us.
In my quirky what of thinking, I wondered what was the ukulele in my life? My friend may never fully master the uke, but that’s not his goal, he just wants to learn to play it. To enjoy it. Good for him.
Again, what is the ekulele in my life? That’s an easy one, I have a love/hate relationship with writing. There are times when I get wonderfully lost in putting words together, forming thoughts, telling stories. And then, there are times when the well is dry, the uke has no strings, and nothing comes forth from the treasures within.
How about you, what is the ukulele in your life? What has God gifted you with and do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures hidden within you? Maybe you are like so many of us, who have difficulty recognizing that we have talent, that we have God’s graces and gifts within us. Our problem may very well be that we struggle with the idea that it’s not a golden harp, it’s just an ordinary uke. And, yet…that is where courage to act enters the picture. That is where creative living really begins.
As I write this, I have just finished my second book and will be sending it on to the publisher. Apparently, my dog has fleas was well-tuned, at least at this point. There is no reason in my life story where I would have had a book published, let alone two. Yet, God knew. And I think it pleased Him.
The Psalmist prayers: “Help me, Lord, to be committed to what you have placed on my heart.” This should be all of our prayers that God would grant us the courage to recognize and to bring forth the gifts and graces that he has hidden within each of us. Go find your God-blessed ukulele, and play it! Amen.
Bulletin Board:
A guy is walking through the country when he spots a sign that reads, “Talking Horse for Sale.” Intrigued, he walks up to the stable to check it out.
“So, what have you done with your life?” he asks the horse.
“I’ve led a full life,” the horse answers miraculously. “I was born in The Andes where I herded for an entire village. Years later, I joined the mounted police force in New York and helped keep the city clean. And now, I spend my days giving free rides to underprivileged kids here in the country.”
The guy is flabbergasted. He asks the horse’s owner, “Why on earth would you want to get rid of such an incredible animal?”
The owner says, “Because he’s a liar! He never did any of that!”
A horse sits down in a movie theater and the woman next to him asks, “Excuse me… are you a horse?”
“Why yes, I am,” replies the horse.
“What are you doing at this movie?”
The horse says, “I really liked the book.”
A man checked himself into the hospital. After examination, they determined he had 8 plastic horses in his stomach. The doctor described him as stable. Ta Da!
Closing Prayer:
Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord, for we want to see you, and the gifts that you have granted us. Help us to use those graces in ways that honor you in all that we do. May our creative living truly reflect you, an imitation of your Love, Lord, to all we meet. Amen.
