Growing Your Talents
by Brandy Webb
Brandy with her mom and daughter at the New Church Lady Retreat
This past weekend I attended the New Church Lady Women’s Conference in Lindale, TX. I also was given the opportunity to speak during the conference. The conference was great. It was uplifting and edifying. I always enjoy meeting new people and catching up with those that I already know. It is also a blessing to be able to visit and learn from each other. It is a rejuvenation for our Christian walk.
This year I realized something important, to not hold yourself back from using your talents. It was not from any particular speech, it was just from observation and my own participation. Let me just start with myself. I am not the best speaker in the world, and if you watch my speech you will notice I talk fast. I talk fast because I am nervous, very nervous. I have no speech class background, and sometimes I tend to compare myself to those that I admire because they are really good speakers. They seem relaxed and their speech flows fluidly without all the “so’s” that I end up saying. This comparison just adds to the nerves. However, despite the nerves and the knowledge that I have a lot of room for improvement, I still step out of my comfort zone and speak.
The truth is, if we all waited until we thought we were perfect at something before we did it, then nothing would get done. Plus, stepping out and using your talent, especially when it is still developing, allows God to help it to grow. It puts into practice the whole lesson that when we are weak, He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). What better way to see His strength work through us as when we go out and use our talents to serve others. Moses wasn’t a great speaker either, yet God helped him lead an entire nation out of slavery. Therefore, I must strive to not let fear stop me from using my talents. Plus, the more you use one, the more you find out that you may have other talents that you never knew existed.
Public speaking is just one of an infinite amount of talents out there. There is also the talent of organization, and that talent is vital when putting together a conference or anything that requires a group of people to come together. They are the ones that are behind the scenes making sure that things run smoothly like a well-oiled machine. Without their talent, conferences would not happen. You can’t have just speakers. You need those that organize location, food, pamphlets, registration, sound, etc. Many women this year used multiple talents to make sure things ran smoothly.
We are all wonderfully and fearfully made (Psalm 139:14). God has given us skills that He desires us to use in our Christian walk. Using our talents requires us to step out of ourselves. Fear will try to hinder us, but we have not been given the spirit of fear but the Spirit of “power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). This conference was just one small moment in time where a group of people were able to use various talents from speaking, to singing, to organizing, to just listening, to comforting, to edifying, and to praying. May we all look around us always for opportunities to use our God-given talents, and pay attention to how God can make them grow.