The Benefit of the Doubt
Most of the time, we recognize someone’s talent before they realize what they have themselves.
For instance, my sister Lou. We all knew what a talent she had for art long before she realized the gift she had.
She made this fairy garden out of a piece of driftwood, some time, and a lot of creativity.
She made it while she was taking care of our dad, working on it a little at a time (or sometimes a lot at a time).
The kids in the neighborhood would slow down while walking by just to see if there was something new she had added since they’d last seen it.
It was a beautiful thing!
Superpowers aren’t always this obvious though.
When I was in boot camp, (for those of you who don’t know, I was in the Navy) part of our basic training was an Olympics Day where the training units competed against each other.
There was the obligatory tug-of-war, a relay race, the rope climb, and a bunch of other competitions.
We had to decide who was going to participate in each event and each person had to participate in something.
There was this one girl, she was a little older than the rest of us eighteen to twenty-one’ers (and at twenty-one, I was even considered kind of old), and she insisted on being in the swimming relay.
“I can do it,” she’d said. “I know I can. Just let me do this one.”
She wasn’t much of a runner and the obstacle course got scared when it saw her coming. She’d bumped into, tripped on, or fallen over every part of that poor course at one time or another.
If she’d been one of the seven dwarfs, she would have been named Clumsy.
But she had to participate in something, so…
She got put into the swimming relay as the fourth swimmer, the last swimmer of the relay. That way, she could be solely blamed when her part lost us the win.
Our training unit was doing fairly well. We were ahead on points when it came time for the swimming relay, but if we lost, we’d be behind.
Our first swimmer was ahead at the end of her leg of the race, our second swimmer was about dead even. The third swimmer put us way behind.
There was no way we could recover.
By the time Clumsy started swimming, the competition was halfway to the end of the last leg of the race.
Clumsy swam her heart out. I’d never seen anyone try so hard to succeed before.
By winning it for herself, she won it for all of us–in spite of our bad behavior.
She had been set up for failure, she accepted the challenge, and she taught us all a lesson.
Everyone has a place where they’re in their element, a place where they feel at home, where they excel.
It’s not always obvious.
It’s often unexpected.
And you can’t tell just by looking at someone outside of that element.
And so, in life, I don’t just believe that I have something I can teach each person I meet, I firmly believe that each person I meet has something they can teach me.
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Your sister Lou is a friend of mine. I haven’t seen her in years but she is still my friend. And a very talented friend, she made me a magnet with a house on it years ago and it still hangs on my fridge!
That’s awesome Denise! I know how much it means to her when someone appreciates her artwork. I still think she doesn’t really know how good she is! Good thing the rest of us know! ❤️❤️❤️
P.S. Glad to have you aboard!
Denise, I don’t think I could ever convey to you the impact you have had on my life. You are, and will always be a Very Dear friend… no matter how many years there are between visits. You are one of my “forever friends”. And I love that you still have that magnet! <3
This is one of my favorite posts! How very true…. Every bit of it
Thanks! I appreciate that. It is true…everybody has a superpower. ❤️❤️❤️ I’m glad this post didn’t leave everyone scratching their heads! 😅
I love this post !! Maybe even my
Favorite!! This is so true and sometimes we are so busy we miss the Blessing from someone else. Years ago on a mission trip someone brought a young man who was had special needs and couldn’t work outside. They asked my husband could he help us in the kitchen. Of course, Kenney said yes. He was thinking he could teach him something. But Mike was a big man with the mind and a heart of a 10 yr old. He was so excited to have his first real job and was a Blessing as he passed out the empty plates and greeted everyone. He asked to take his apron home and our leader decided Kenney should present it to him at our nightly Devotional on our last night. When Kenney presented it he said I really thought I would be able to teach you something but instead you taught me something. Mike said what did I teach you and Kenney said the love of God and a pure heart. There wasn’t a dry eye in the church as the two of them embraced.
Sorry this is long but you can learn from unlikely sources. He didn’t need us we needed him.
What a beautiful story. ❤️ It’s so amazing the gifts we receive from the most unlikely places when we keep an open heart! God bless you both! ❤️
Becky, no dry eyes here either. that was a beautiful story, thanks for sharing.
Ahhh, but sometimes the rest of the world thinks they know your superpower, yet they are only partially right. I may be good at art, but my superpower comes when I combine art with children.
Take for example my summer job at Aurora Day Camp here in Atlanta. I am the Art Specialist at this camp for children with cancer and their siblings. (Just a little plug… It’s completely free for these families and we even provide free transportation. If you’d like to learn more go to auroradaycamp.org)
Making art is such a part of who I am. But combining the gift of art with children who can use it as a means of getting to know themselves, learning who they are outside of their diagnosis, now THAT is a superpower to celebrate!
Although, I am a nanny for a 7 year old girl that might argue with you about my superpower. She will tell you straight out, and argue the point til she’s blue in the face, that my superpower is making children giggle.
It is truly a God-given talent. I have no other explanation of where this comes from, other than the Grace of God. Everyone has a superpower, even if they don’t know what it is yet. The way to find it is to “let go and let God”. He’ll surely find a way to guide you to it!
Very cool sis! ❤️
Lou don’t know how you managed to be 900 miles from “home” and still haven’t left (E.) Aurora. Your fairy house is proudly on display in front of Sarah’s house only, under a foot of snow. Were hoping you will visit soon as I believe the fairy kitchen needs an update.
I will say this in all honestly the two of yous (the 2 yutes) have way more superpowers than you realize. but we can finish this in a few weeks when I visit. Until then keep the light shining. Love Brother
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I am just gonna respond with an, I LOVE THIS POST OF YOURS! One of my favorites. Have a wonderful week Carol!
Thanks Susan, I’m glad you enjoyed it! ❤️