God has a dream!
The Stewardship
Sunday sermon started with ‘God has a dream for all creation’ and we are
stewards of our specific part in the Creator's dream.
Where do I go to find out what my part
is?
What are the clues, signs that have been
left for me to know my place in God's dream?
What exactly am I steward of – my life?
My first clue
came from the Disney movie Frozen.
Disney movies do not normally come to mind when I am struggling with a
spiritual matters, nonetheless, Elsa the princess and then Queen of Arendelle
is where I found my first clue.
Elsa was born
with many talents one of which scared both her and her parents. So unusual was her talent that they
conspired to keep it a secret. The price
of hiding her talent was that she shut herself off from friends and family.
When her talent
could no longer be hidden it burst from her and caused great harm. Only when Elsa was confronted with the power
of selfless and sacrificing love did she understand the true nature of her
talent - she experienced herself through love rather than fear.
At one point in
my life some 31 years ago, the dream that I had for my future was taken away
very violently and abruptly. I was
angry, frightened and at a loss as to what I should do next.
I hate
platitudes, yet in this case it was true – as one door closed another door
presented itself. This door lead to two
years of voluntary service through Mennonite Central Committee. I walked through this door because at the
time it seemed easier then struggling to rebuild what was lost.
In reality I
found myself within God’s dream. I was
not generating an income, I was not building a career, I was the closest I have
ever been to my creator. All I had to
work with was my skills and talents and the resources that God through others
provided me.
Do we have to
lose everything to be part of God's dream –no I don’t think so, however the more we have the
harder it is – the eye of needle.
My talents,
skills and resources show me my place in God's dream. At 57 I am now challenged to take stock of my
life and like Elsa find the talent, skill, resource that I have attempted to
hide - that I have withheld from God and from those I love.
The question is
what I am not prepared to lose - what am I hoarding? By concealing these, what has been the impact
on me, family, neighbours and especially on God's dream?
I believe I need
to be mindful that all I am and have is needed for God's dream to be
realized. On this stewardship Sunday I
have come to understand stewardship not just in terms of what I put in the
offering plate, I am also a steward of my life – the talent, skills and
resources that I have cultivated and accumulated.
As a grandparent
this life lesson has come just in time for me to gently and tenaciously
influence my children and grandchildren to be mindful of how they spend their
time and talents – to build a family culture of personal stewardship and social
justice.
Grandma Snyder
©2013-2014 twosnydergirls
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