Talents

 A few weeks ago on a Friday morning Michaela and I were travelling in the car and she casually started talking about people’s talents. She asked me what my talent was. She caught me off guard.   To be honest, I don’t really know what my talents are but what I do know is that I love variety and loads of different tasks.  I love all of it and the challenge of the completed project gets me motivated and excited. Could that be a talent?  I don’t really know but as I pondered the question she piped up – I know what Dad’s talent is! That’s not hard I was thinking. Anybody within a ten foot radius, watching Johnny work, could tell you.  She blurted out - Dad can do anything, and that’s his talent. I smiled at the simplicity of her words. That afternoon I relayed the story to Johnny while we were working on the house.   He smiled and was quiet for a bit and then he said “if you adopt the principle that God gave you hands, nothing is impossible”. The words sank into my heart as I picked up the sander and started sanding down another frame for a patio chair.   Yes he was right, nothing is impossible if you believe this.

The roof restoration and the back side of the house are almost complete. When this project is over, I will smile.  It will be a smile of achievement, perseverance and pleasure.  When you stand back and look at it, it appears no different to hundreds of other houses now. We know though the time, the effort, the blood, sweat and toll it’s taken to get this far.  It’s all been good and I’m the first one to say it’s been life changing. Climbing onto the roof and facing my fears, has made my fear of heights, a thing of the past.  No longer will I fear the heights I must tackle, but slowly and steadily, we will accomplish this task, fears or no fears.