Talent is Not Equal

By Christine Thackeray

Have you ever met someone who is a natural athlete, musician or artist? It's like they just have this gift from heaven that gives them a clear vision or steady hand or unique perspective and when you are around them you suddenly realize that you are more normal than you ever imagined?
The scriptures come crashing to mind that we shouldn't compare... i.e. "all truth is independent in that sphere in which it was created" and "to every man is given a gift" but some people truly have more as illustrated by the parable of the talents. Now in the end, whether you have only one or a whole handful of talents you get the same reward, but in the meantime it is humbling when you are feeling pretty good about your three and you sit next to someone that has hundreds.
As you probably know, we just moved and I joined a writing group. Well, we have five members but only three are active. The other scout leader and I are strong writers. (SL is always grammatically accurate with no typos unlike me) but the young mother of five that we meet with is incredible. She makes me laugh every other Wednesday and literally dazzles me with her prose.Luckily, she is on my side and I feel like I'm improving, just sitting in her shadow. It's a great thing. The same is true for the online critique group I'm with. There are a few members that are awesome- they see things I would never think of. What a gift!
I guess I want to publicly thank those great talents that are helping me along the way and hopefully with enough work I'll grow from three to maybe eight- over the next few years.

Performing

By Rebecca Talley

I admit it, I'm an American Idol junkie. I love that show.

My kids are all performers. I'm not sure where they picked up their love for theater and performing. My husband and I both played sports. I had envisioned spending hours watching my kids compete in basketball, football, track or other sports. Instead, I attend plays, concerts, and talent shows. My oldest son wants to pursue acting after his mission. My other kids all love to be in plays. My oldest daughter at home finished The Real Inspector Hound in February and has been cast in The Tempest. Her younger sister will be on the makeup crew for The Tempest. My younger kids will be in a production of Willy Wonka for the entire month of April, with my daughter playing Veruka. Just last night, my youngest daughter told us at the conclusion of Family Home Evening to all be quiet while she performed for us. She went on to dance and sing for several minutes. I've had children involved in as many as 3 plays all at once (while I was pregnant, which was quite overwhelming). Who knew my kids' talents would be in this area? I've realized that I've raised a family of performers.

So I guess my fascination with American Idol is just a natural outgrowth of watching my own kids perform and develop their talents. My favorite contestant is David Archuleta and I enjoy watching him every week. It's wonderful that he not only has the opportunity to share his talent with the world, but we can enjoy his talent. i can't wait to see who wins.