God has given each of us a gift. If like me, there have been periods in your life when your gift has been slightly used or never used, don’t let Satan win.
As each one has received a gift, minister it one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:10
As a teenager, my stepmother used to tell me I didn’t have any talents. I used to draw designs of houses. I wanted to be an architect. When she saw my drawings, she said I wasn’t smart enough to be an architect. So, I shifted my focus to being an interior decorator/designer. Again, she said I wasn’t smart enough. So again, I shifted my focus this time to being an airline stewardess. She didn’t say anything about that choice. What she didn’t say spoke volumes. Airline stewardesses didn’t have to be very smart. Of course, as I got older, I realized that wasn’t the case.
But the damage my stepmother did to my self-confidence had already been done. I thought as I got older, I had stepped out from under her shadow and come into my own. But the shadow is still there. It’s just being managed by someone else, Satan.
You see, I write. I write poems and songs and this blog. I self-published my first book in 2013. My second book is finished. Several years ago, I started a blog. It’s been a few years since I finished the book or posted anything on the blog.
Back Under The Shadow
I fell back under the shadow. But this time it was Satan’s doing. I was such an easy target. I had the ammunition already in my head. All Satan had to do was push the button and I played the words over and over in my mind. “You can’t get a book of Christian poems published unless you do it yourself. You’re a nobody. Look at your first book. All you sold was a little over a hundred books. You never recouped the money you spent to publish it. All that money to keep the blog going and who read it?” You’re a nobody. I gave up on the book and the blog. Better not to try then to try and fail, again. My gift wasn’t slightly used it was never used.
Out From Under The Shadow
God pulled me out from under Satan’s shadow and He used people to do it. Every Sunday and Wednesday night at Church I am greeted with a hug and the greeting, “My favorite author.” Out of the blue, someone will ask me if I’m going to write a second book.
So, as you can tell if you are reading this blog post, I started blogging again and videoing and posting more of my poems. I don’t ever want to be under Satan’s shadow again. I don’t ever want to let myself be silenced again. This is the voice/gift God gave me and I intend to be, as Peter says, a good steward of what God has given me.
God has given each of us a gift or gifts. If like me your gift has been slightly used or never used, don’t let Satan win. As 1 Peter 4:10 says: As each one has received a gift, minister it one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.