Kevin is one of the high schoolers at my home church and he is one of the most contemplative kids I’ve ever met. When I left a couple of years ago, I referred to Kevin solely as “the prodigy” because there was no reason a middle schooler should be able to do what he could do with a guitar. He played in our worship band and he was always the first one to arrive and the last one to leave. Kevin would practice on his guitar with our sound system literally until we cut the power at the end of the night. He knows his instrument and he knows his gift.
As the last couple of years have gone by, Kevin’s life has just unfolded around him and amidst the chaos, his talent on the guitar has just grown. I stood and talked with him for a while today as he tried to explain what was going on in his life and what God has been teaching him. Finally, he got to such a stumbling point that he had to say, “Sometimes I just can’t come up with the words to say what He’s doing. I have so much trouble explaining things to people that I wish they could just understand my guitar.” I guess it really is all about us finding our gift and using it to its full potential to bring God glory.
After a few years of being a Christian, Kevin still couldn’t put his walk with Christ into words, so he decided to go a different route. Music is one of the most moving forms of art we have today and Kevin just so happens to be pretty talented in that area. So he sat down to write. Even while he was trying to put his feelings into lyrics on a page, he still couldn’t communicate the feelings he had in his heart. So he just kept playing. Kevin ended up with what he feels is his most powerful piece, that just so happens to be an instrumental. No words were needed. Because for him, words wouldn’t do.
As a writer and a “word” guy, transcribing my thoughts onto a page isn’t too difficult for me. However, we’re not all wired the same way. Kevin is an incredible musician and it’s such a blessing to see him using his talents and gifts for the praise of God and the furthering of His kingdom. Even at a young age, he is attempting to master his trade and use it as the powerful tool that God gave him. It’s a pretty cool picture to watch unfold.
I know that not everyone has “their thing”. Many of us don’t have some prodigy-esque talent in our back pockets, so it’s not as easy to know what to practice. But that’s not really an excuse to not pursue whatever gifts we might have with the same passion and zeal. I’ve read much better writers that can’t get anyone to read their entire work (including their family, and me, just being honest). I don’t think it’s my talent that keeps you reading, I think it’s partly the fact that I’ve been doing this for 322 days so far and you want to see if I can finish, and the other part is that I’m not doing this with any illusion of grandeur because nothing on this blog is really about me. Each day is to spotlight a different person, but to bring honor to the one and only God. We just need to use our gifts with the passion to make a difference in bringing the kingdom to earth. What happens after that isn’t up to us.
