Own the gifts

I just had a conversation with a friend about the less biblical gifts given to us by God. I've come to one conclusion from that one talk

People need to stop selling themselves so short. They need to own the fact that God has given them a special talent to do things. for example: Tim Tebow, one of the NFL's newest rising talents, knows he isn't the best QB out there, but he does know that he has been given a gift by God and he should use it for God's glory, and not be down on himself because of the fact that he's not the best.

This is something like what went through my head about 2 years ago.

It was the summer before my Sophomore year, and we were at weight lifting. I was talking to my football coach about playing nose guard. He was very excited for me and he started to tell me about how he was glad that I lifted so much. He told me that I was going to be the starting nose guard on the JV team, and that I had a chance to be a real player on Varsity. I was trying to be humble, and not let stuff like that get to my head, and I said, "I'm not that good, coach." He looked at me and told me that I wasn't that good. I was GOING to be that good. I figured he had said htis because the season hadn't of started yet, but I didn't think much more than "Well, I'm definitely going to start nose guard this year." Honestly, I hadn't given much thought to the fact that maybe I had gotten THAT much better. Through the work I had to put into it, and the determination to keep a good season backed up by another good season, I just wanted to be a leader for Christ. Honestly, that's the best decision you can make when you realize that you have a real skill.

Here we are the first day of practice, and I knew it was time to start showing people that I may be small, but there was no way that someone was going to take my spot. It probably would have made me mad, but I knew that I had earned a spot, and I wasn't about to let it go. the biggest problem about that on a JV team is that you really have to learn to play as a team, and actually learning that was the hardest thing for us to do as a team.

Christ has given me a few gifts. The ability to do things in sports well is one. Also, it seems that speaking the right words that only God could have given me to say when I need to say something to someone or a group of people is another. I want to be that this year. I want the kids on the football team to know that I want us to be more than a team. We need to literally be so close, that we would enjoy practice, just simply because we get to hang out with each other, and we get to play a game together.

Our coach talks a lot about how a football team is another family. Over the course of looking at the JV team at Cave Spring, I do not think that we have acted like a family. For us to really go and win football games, or even have a successful season, we must drop ourselves out of the equation and come together as a unit. If we are letting ourselves be divided by anything, be it grade level, maturity level, or anything else; We. Will. Fail. We can not hope to have a successful football season if we are torn apart.

Getting back on topic now....

God has given you all many gifts. The reason He gave you those gifts is so that you can glorify His name by the gifts you've been given. I don't want to be the one who knocks off God's gift just because I'm trying to be humble. There's a difference between humility and just not owning who you really are. We need to own who we are, and the abilities that God has given to us. Once we have accomplished this, we will start to see a dramatic change in our lives. The way we carry ourselves would be one of them.

I know that I have a lot of friends who have many talents, but not all of them know how to use them for the Lord, or they might not even want to use them for the Lord. that's the part that really breaks my heart. People need to really think about the reason that they have the gifts that they do. There is nothing I really did to earn being a good lifter. I did nothing to  earn being athletic. Honestly, I want to put a charge to people, that if they gave glory to God for the abilities that they have, they might actually find that success will find its way into their lives. I know that the season I spent playing for the Lord, and His glory, was one of the best seasons of my life. I've never had that successful of a baseball season. The reason for that is because I was playing for myself. I wasn't playing for the team, and I definitely wasn't playing for the Lord. I had a successful soccer season last year, just because I'm not the best soccer player, does not mean that it was not a successful year!

My biggest advice to anyone who is reading this is to just be who you are. Use what you've been given by the grace of God to use, and chase your dreams using those skills.

Don't sell yourself short.


I love you guys
TJ

"In in the process of making my dreams come true... Don't stop me." Chase Brittain