A Father's Heart: September 2008

Greetings to all two of you who read my blog. I am thrilled once again to share with you what is on my heart today. As I listen to the remarkable talent of the artist Yo Yo Ma as he caresses the stings of his cello I am overwhelmed with appreciation to our God for the remarkable gifts He bestows. Having been a musician or a "music maker" for much of my life I cannot imagine life without that beautiful touch. I was once asked if I had to choose, would I rather be deaf or blind. Of course I choose blind, although that would be a terrible loss within and of itself, I would not want to imagine a world without sound. I can re create in my minds eye pictures and imaginings of what I might see, however I don't believe I could conceive the beauty that is found in sound, especially music.

Oh the talent in that man's hands and heart!

What is talent? How do you determine what a talent is? I know that when I witness someone accomplishing something that I cannot, more often than not I attribute that as a talent that person has. Regardless of whether or not it is considered by the public in general as a talent.

For example, our friend Mariya. We met Mariya when the Lord directed her to us some months ago. When we moved to St. Augustine we had to combine two households. AND we were moving into one that had not been properly up kept for a few years due to Shelley's parents decline in health. The floors were an absolute mess and the bathrooms were even worse. Shelley and I talked about it and prayed about it and although we really could not afford it we decided to try to find some college student or independent worker (not with a cleaning service) to come and help us get the house in some semblance of clean. God lead us right to Mariya.

She is originally from Ukraine and has been here in America for a little over three years. Although her English is not what she would like it to be, she really is amazing to have learned it totally by just living here and trusting God. Which she does... with a talent.

What I was going to say when I began to write about Mariya was that she has a definite talent to clean. And clean well she really does. And I know clean, having once owned and worked in a house cleaning business. But truly her talent lies in trusting God. Every day that she comes to our home (once a week for a few hours)she greets us with such a smile and loving concern for us. She never fails to somehow tell us how "My God" has taught her something or given her strength for some struggle or lead her day in such a special way.

She has a talent for living her faith. A talent for lifting up our Heavenly Father through her attitude and efforts. Sure she is "working" but sometimes you would never know it. She loves to chat in her fourth language (she knows Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, and English)because she considers it a challenge as she continues to learn. She does so well but she thinks she has so far to go. Perhaps but her talent for desiring to be better is certainly contagious.

My girls also have a talent. Actually I am sure there are several talents they possess. Many from Shelley I see every day but my little girls have talents that are as yet untapped and I am anxious to see them blossom. Their most amazing talent that I recognize these days is their talent to make my day so much brighter. So much more worthwhile.