Sunday Stride – Unbury that talent!

“But the man who received one [talent] went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.” (MT 25:18)

On Friday, I got the pleasure of being a part of a zoom call with all the writers of the new Into The Deep Blog. This blog, run by Becky Eldredge and her team, shares the voices of women who are inspired by Ignatian Spirituality. 

Some writers on that call have published multiple books, some have been working on writing for a few years, others are just starting to translate their experiences into words they can share with others and hopefully use to inspire hearts. No matter what stage anyone is in, it’s such a beautiful thing to be a part of this group working to use our talents for God.

Today’s Gospel reading has always struck me as a funny play on words. The word talent in this parable represents a denomination of money. Every time I read it, however, I naturally reflect on the definition of talent that I know: your God given gifts. 

In my life I have wanted to have many talents. As a young girl I wanted to be a gymnast or a ballerina. I sometimes thought in high school that being a lawyer or doctor would be fun. Through all of that dreaming and coveting of other people’s talents, I often discarded the things that brought me the most joy. It took til I was almost 30 to embrace my talents in ministry full time and til I was almost 40 to really work on sharing my writing with the world.

As I looked around at the faces on that screen Friday, I thought: “What would the world lose if all these women buried their talents in the ground?”

What talent are you burying in the ground right now? Could you pick it up and dust it off and take a chance on it? After all, God gave it to you so that you may use it and impact others. My prayer for you and for me this Sunday is that we don’t leave our talents rotting in the soil where they do no good at all.

Pick them up.

Dust them off.

And get started.