T A L E N T

These were the Posters for the Talent Fair

Here it is the post I've been thinking a lot about.
     When I hear the word Talent it scares me.

     At church we had a "Talent Fair" where you bring a talent or something you've done to display.  When the sign-up sheet came to me I instantly saw the word talent and went into panic mode:  I can't sing, or dance, or draw, or sew, or cook, or do anything so well that I'd want to display it.  I looked at the list for a long time, at least it seemed like a long time as we were nearing the end of church in a primary with room full of impatient children.  I looked through the stack of other papers on the clipboard.  One was for pie, I was stalling on the talent thing and thought, "I can make a pie."  I signed up.  I could just pass the clipboard along, but something was tugging at me to sign my name on the "Talent" list.

     I've been thinking about why am I so scared to share something I've done and I've come to several conclusions. 

1. When you say you are good at something people expect you to be.  Then on top of their expectations I add my own - I should be the best, which I might add is unattainable.  If someone is better than me at a talent it feels as though it diminishes mine.
2. If you say you're good at something like, "I'm good with people."  Instantly in my head I think of ALL the times I have not been good with people.  There seems to be a lot of these. Plus how do you display a talent like that?
3. Satan doesn't want me to think I have anything of value to share with others.

 I would like to thank everyone who replied to my earlier talent post.  Right before this Relief Society "Talent Fair" I was called to be the (what use to be called) Enrichment leader.  I was asked to share something about talents.  I was ready because I could hear your words: 

"A talent is anything you've learned to do. And do well." 

"It's a superior ability in an art." 

"When you can do something with ease that is harder for other people to do."

"You've got talent!" 

"Some [talents] have to be worked at and developed, but we've all got 'em."

      I am happy to say, I did not let Satan win.  I signed my name on that piece of paper and brought a project.  There were some amazing talents shared and I got to know a little bit more about the Sisters in my ward.  It was a great night and I'm glad I was part of it. 

    

 I've decided: We all have talents, but, some are harder to display than others.   Some start as an interest and are developed into talents.  The ones that we are naturally good at sometimes we forget that they are a talent because they come so easily to us.   With that, I challenge you to do what Tamra said,  

". . .discover what they are."