Rocket Balloons

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4: 10

“Mama, look at this!” My son Dylan said to me excitedly from the living room the other night. “Look what I made! I made a dog!” He said again, since he knew I had ignored his first attempt at catching my attention. Then I looked and indeed, he had made a dog with one of the many rocket balloons Grandma had given him for Easter. – On a side note, I swear my Mother in Law owns serious stocks in the Rocket Balloon company since every holiday each of her 11 grandchildren gets a packet full of them which make for a rather “cheerful/noisy/spit-full” gathering.- 

At any rate, Dylan had stopped letting the rocket balloons loose around the house, which had thankfully made for a much quieter evening, and instead he had been diligently at work tying them up after blowing them all up and leaving them spread all around the living room. I didn’t really care since I much rather have him doing that than using them for their intended evil purpose. What I didn’t know was that he had decided to try to make a balloon dog with one of them; much less that he had actually succeeded! When I finally looked, he was holding in his little hands a perfectly shaped balloon dog! Granted, it was just the top half, but it was surprising to see how he had figured out a way to make that all by himself. After showing me, he ran upstairs to show Daddy. And I heard him say: “Look Daddy, I’m gifted!”

Dan and I both burst out in laughter when we heard that. Then we said to Dylan, “yes, you sure are gifted!” We all are. No matter what we think, we have all received gifts from our Maker. He tucked the gifts inside of us and He provides opportunities for us to pull them out and use them. It is mainly up to us, however, how we use those God-given gifts. It is up to us how we do not use them also. We may decide we don’t have any gifts so that’s why we don’t use them. That’s actually one of the most successful tools of the enemy. He convinces us that we were not endowed by Our Creator with any gifts; therefore, we do nothing. We hide our “talent” and we miss out.

If we don’t use our gifts, we miss out on a Spirit-filled life. I’m not talking about a doctrine of works. I believe there is nothing we can do to earn our spot in Heaven, so to speak. Jesus paid it all and all to Him I owe. It is not what I do, but what He has done. It is by who He is and by His calling and by His Grace that we belong to Him. But I do believe also that living a life of buried talents keeps us from enjoying His rewards in Heaven and from a joyful life on earth. That’s how we show our faith. That’s how we show our love. And it is by our love that we will be recognized as His children.-a love that moves us to action,-a love that is more than words.-

Just as my little boy discovers his gift for creating with his hands, I pray we discover our own gifts. As Dylan discovers the joy of using his gifts for the honor and glory of the Most High, I pray we do the same. In the meantime, let’s see what other better uses Dylan discovers for those delightfully annoying rocket balloons. I know one day I will miss their sound as they flutter pass by my head spreading joyful spit to those in their path.

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