An irreplaceable you . . .

This morning a weird memory was brought to mind. In the 8th grade my English teacher asked us to write our eulogy. It was a morbid assignment but made us think about how we wanted to be remembered after our time on this earth is done. I began to think about my own legacy this morning. What legacy am I leaving? If I were to be called home today what is it that will be remembered? What gift have I left behind? Will I have created a lasting beauty somewhere that will last for generations to come? When people look at my headstone and see 1978-my dying year, the only years they will remember is represented by that tiny little dash. What am I creating out of that dash?

In Matthew chapter 25 we are taught the parable of the talents. They who went out and used the talents that were entrusted to them doubled their reward. But he who out of fear hid his talent had it removed from him and he was left in misery and agony. Right after those verses we read:

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt 25:34-40)

As we look around we can see so many who hunger for the love of a friend, who thirst for knowledge of who they are and why there are here, who want to be accepted and embraced and no longer a stranger from the rest. We see those who stand naked without the armor that protects us when we are filled with the knowledge that we are a child of God. Many who are spiritually and emotionally sick from the constant battle that comes with the trials and adversity we each face, and those who have been imprisoned by Satan thru sin and immorality. We each have been given unique talents that can feed those who hunger, that can quench someone’s thirst, that can heal the sick and imprisoned. Talents that can make someone no longer feel like an outcast. Talents that can change our world and the world of others in a way that only we can. But we must not let fear allow us to bury our talents away. We must not allow ourselves to think that our talents are less beautiful and therefore not as significant. We must stop allowing the fear of being hurt and exposing what is in our mind and hearts to stand in the way of creating a love and a beauty that was not there before. Not only does it bring a healing to those around us, but we then find that in the process it turn healed us.

Are we the person we were meant to be? Are we hiding our light under a bushel or allowing it to be a guiding force to those who are lost? Are we allowing fear to blind us from the potential offered to us? Do not allow Satan to make you feel insignificant. Free the beauty within you and create a legacy that will empower and inspire for years to come.

If you find that you are one that has buried your talent. Someone who has gone down the wrong path and has started a legacy that you do not wish to leave behind, do not let your hearts be troubled. It is never too late to begin your own “Happily ever after”. Just because you are walking down a path does not mean you need to continue that journey. There is still time to unearth the talents you have buried within you. Who you are now is not who you have to remain being. Start! Start now! Be the man or woman you want your kids to become. Be the kind of friend you want by your side. Allow yourself to love and be loved. Free yourself from the prison of fear that YOU have created. Your legacy is yours and yours alone. What do you want your legacy to be? What do you want your dash to be remembered as? No matter what the beginning of our story reads the end is still unwritten. The pen is still in our hands. The power and means to created the ending we desire is still before us. . .dream it. . .believe it. . .hope for it. . .love unconditionally and make it happen! “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” -Nelson Mandela