"'I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.' But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.'" (Matt. 25:25-28 ESV)
"Hands on home keys. Eyes on book. Ready. Type." It was 1980. I was a 14-year-old high school freshman and I was struggling to type a letter on an electric typewriter without looking at the keys. Most of the other people in the class were juniors and seniors. I had decided to take the class early to get out of taking a foreign language. I had enough trouble with English and learning French or Spanish seemed a lot scarier than learning to type. I was regretting my decision, though, as I struggled to touch type without looking at the keys. I didn't really see myself ever using a typewriter again after the term was over.
Fast forward 20 years. My wife and I had bought our first computer with a word processor program. I had been writing my stories by hand for a long time but decided I would try to type one out instead. Amazingly, my hands went automatically to the home keys and I began to write.
Like riding a bike my body remembered after all of these years how to type. Soon I was not only writing stories on my computer but sending them out on the internet as well. Where once I had been able to touch hundreds of readers of our local paper now I was able to touch thousands of readers all over the world. It was such a blessing and I thanked God for it.
Now here is the question. What part of me knew all of those years ago that one day I would need to know how to type? I had no desire to be a writer at that time. I had nothing to share and nothing to write. Yet, somehow a part of my soul decided that I should take that typing class and learn a skill that I would need 20 years later.
It seems that even if we don't know what we will need in this life, God does. God sees our eternal past and future. God sees the interconnectedness of us all. God loves us and guides us and helps us to use our talents and love to help each other. All we need to do is trust Him. All we need to do is listen to the deepest parts of our souls.
Life is a long journey full of loving, learning, and helping. You never know what you will need along the way either. Trust in God then. Use every talent He gives you to make this world a better and more beautiful place. Use every choice He gives you to type out a life of love here.
Joseph J. Mazzella
