Comments on: On straight lines and developing gifts

By: Palomita

Palomita — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:41:41 +0000

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this amazing thought on developing our talents, and rejoicing in the talents of others. I identify exactly with you in this. My best friend actually told me, "Mary, if we weren't already friends, I don't think I could be friends with you, you are so talented." While I think she meant it as a compliment (I think), it made me feel really bad. It made me feel like I must be totally unapproachable to other people. So, thank you for the reminder that we all need to be thankful for own talents, use and develop them, and rejoice in the talents of others – I needed that today.

And, I think one of my greatest talents is that I LOVE to learn, which has led to the development of many other talents…

By: annie valentine

annie valentine — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:49:20 +0000

I have loads of talents (boy it feels good to say that out loud), and I draw fantastic scribbly lines.

By: Aly Dosdall

Aly Dosdall — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:56:23 +0000

Amen, sistah!

…oh, my talent is recognizing words well said. 😉

By: *

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:22:30 +0000

We had the most amazing Enrichment Night the other month, where we were all asked to bring in something that represented one of our talents. It was a fun night. There were sisters in my ward who I've known for 5+ yrs and I never realized they quilted/photographed/scrapbooked/sewed/canned, etc etc.

PS: One of my talents is writing. The other one is eating stacks of chocolate chip waffles.

By: Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:04:23 +0000

Ahh. Beautiful post Lara! I agree that we all have talents. And you certainly have put so much work & practice into your gift. I'm trying to do the same.

My talent is…singing! Ta da!

By: Helena

Helena — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:22:29 +0000

I've had people say that to me too. Or, "I can't even draw a stick figure." (To which I usually say that my husband draws really cool stick figures.)

By: rychelle

rychelle — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:13:49 +0000

this is an interesting topic. i guess i never thought of it, the way you did. when i make comments like "i can't even draw a straight line" i never thought i was putting myself down, i always meant that i was just in awe of someone else's talent. and, i never thought about the fact that their talent never really had anything to do with drawing straight lines.

anyway, i really enjoyed reading your take on it. you truly have a talent for writing.

i believe one of my talents is crafting and making my home a comfortable place to be.

By: Chandy

Chandy — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:33:54 +0000

Another wonderful post, Lara!

I fall under the non-mastery of their talents. Not by choice, but because my main desire was to be a SAHM mother and to have my children be the beneficiaries of whatever talent I have and yet to discover. Cooking came naturally to me when I needed to learn because I took Chemistry three different times to prove that I deserved all three A's! LOL

I have an eye for making my home the most comfortable and inviting. Also working on instinct when it comes to my children, so when I see others accomplished in their talents, I feel the pull of the comparing game, but inside, all I'm really feeling is how happy I am that another person chose to excel. When I look at myself, I see many talents that people don't see because I want to know that my family sees it first and always. That builds my confidence.

I love this post, thank you Lara.

By: DeNae

DeNae — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:28:57 +0000

Testify, sister! I'm one of those who has been given talents that are uniquely useful in the church: I'm a musician, I'm a good teacher with a great memory for the scriptures, and I'm a good public speaker.

So I get the question "Is there anything you CAN'T do??" fairly regularly.

And the answer is, "Um, yes. How much time do you have?"

But I have often wondered what the questioner would think if I burst into tears and said, "Gosh, I never thought of it before, but there are so many things I can't do I must be a complete LOSER!!"

Satan is a divider. And I think he uses every good gift we've been given to further that agenda.

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:26:38 +0000

I absolutely LOVE this post! What you said is spot-on. I am a huge proponent of developing talents.

I envy (a little) the musical talent of my spouse but the reality is that I don't have the passion for it he does and therefore was not willing to pay the price he did to cultivate it. However, even though I don't posess the talent, I can still appreciate the fruits of his labor.

He envies my ability to speak in public even in difficult situations and win over the audience. He'd never want to do that in a million years!

Thank goodness we all have different talents.