As it is Thanksgiving, I thought I would comment on gratitude and thankfulness however I am realizing I need to finish my thoughts on my last post, it just can't wait until next week. Last Thursday I shared Jesus' teaching story about the business owner who left the country and gave three of his employees responsibility over a portion of his finances. If you remember, two of the people took the funds and worked to increase the money. The third person was afraid of the business owner and hid the money they had been given. The business owner was incredibly disappointed and upset with this employee. In fact, the owner said 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest...... get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.
I have realized that I am that third employee. God may not have given me money, but he did give me the gift of creative talent. He put me on this earth to share my creativity with the world in a way that will bring others closer to him. This was why I started GimmeGrace; to share my creative talents, to encourage others to look at Christianity in a new way, to spread the peace, excitement and joy that a relationship with Christ can bring to a person's life.
Well I am stuck right now. I have created the company, produced the cards, built the website and set up systems that will help GimmeGrace be successful. However, the one thing that I am (and always have been) terrified of doing is selling. I was disappointed to find that people do not generally buy greeting cards online. Nothing I do can really change that. What this means is that I get to personally go out and share my cards with stationary vendors, churches and bookstores. I try to look at it as an opportunity to SHARE, but I have to admit, I would really rather hide everything under a rock and wait for someone else to do it. I have done the mental exercise of asking myself, "What is the worst thing that could happen?" Well, I will honestly tell you - the worst thing that could happen is that I would throw up! My stomach gets itself completely tied up in knots when I even THINK of approaching someone to discuss sales.
It is funny, as I mentioned earlier this month, my greatest Spiritual Gift has been the gift of Faith. So, here is my question: If my faith is that large, why do I doubt God's care and concern for me? Why do I question his ability to direct me around my trials safely, his ability to see me through my fears to bigger and better things? I can only imagine it is because I am human - which is kind of hard to change - and it is my nature to be fearful, doubtful and self centered. I know I need help; help from God, help from Jesus and help from you. I need to be accountable to you and to those I am in fellowship with. I am going to start out small, but firmly believe that a small start will lead to something bigger.
So here we go..... this is my promise to God, Jesus, myself and you:
I will make 10 sales calls each week for the next two weeks. I will let you know what the results are on December 9th. Can you pray for me? A prayer that I do not throw up on any potential clients would be nice.
I hope that you find some solace in hearing that you are not alone in your struggles with being human. I am right there next to you, working through my weaknesses and shortcomings. I know that I am not the only one who has these issues; we ALL do, every one of us! God meant us to be in community so that we can support one another and bear one another's burdens. To honor God's call to do this, I am being as transparent as I can. Please, feel free to let me know how I can help you let your talents shine! I would love to help where I can.
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