Wise words from Dalton Roberts

I've taken the liberty of reprinting Dalton Roberts' Sunday Journal entry for today. He's a great philosopher.


REKINDLE YOUR GIFT

No matter what your gift is nor how much success you may have with it, there are times you get discouraged. No matter how much you enjoy the work, there are times you get weary of it.

Once I spoke to a regional meeting of ministers. At each meal I would be sitting with a different minister. I made it a point to ask the simple question, "Are you enjoying your work?" To my surprise, not a one replied with a smiling, enthusiastic "Yes!"

They would say things like, "Well, there are times when it is fulfilling but…" or "Well, the church politics get to me but…" or "Well, it certainly has its downside and hard times." I repeat, not a one was enthusiastic.

Paul wrote to young Timothy who was just starting his ministry, "Rekindle the gift." No matter how great the gift, it must be rekindled. No matter how high you are today, you are going to face challenges that will take away the luster.

I like the word "rekindle." When I was a boy and we had a fireplace Dad would send me out to cut up some kindling. These were small slivers and slices of wood that helped him get a good fire started. He'd roll up a newspaper and stack a little kindling around it and then lay a big log on top of it all. As the kindling got going, it would get the log to burning, slowly but surely.

No matter how much bliss you find in your work, the fire is going to get low now and then. I know that from my songwriting. Sometimes I will get a good idea for a song and my internal wet blanket will say, "Why write it…it probably won't sell… no one will record it" ad infinitum, ad nauseum. The only way to handle an internal wet blanket is to put some kindling under it and get a fire going.

Unless we become our own best encouragers, we will falter and fail. It is good to have friends to support us and appreciate what we do and they can certainly stoke our fires but we must be our own best friend.

It helps to realize what we do well IS a gift. How many people can write songs? How many people can do what you do? One thing is for sure: no one can do what you do exactly like you do it and if you don't do it, it won't get done.

My mother once told me, "Son, we should not just tithe our money, we should tithe our time and our talent because if we don't do what we are here to do, it will never be done."

Take time to nurture yourself and your gifts. Gratitude for them is a little pile of kindling. No matter how little or how great a success we may feel ourselves to be, just be grateful you are here /to do the work you are gifted to do. Marry your gifts. Dedicate them for better or worse, for richer or poor.

Excuse me now. I've got to go cut some more kindling.

Thanks, Dalton!