Talents

I've never been the kind of person that's really good at one thing, like playing an instrument, singing, dancing or art. When I was a little girl I took piano lessons from my mom for a couple of summers, but I wasn't all that motivated to practice and I eventually quit. I wish I would've stuck with it because as I grew older, playing the piano was always something I wished I could do. (Although it wouldn't do me any good now that I'm paralyzed!) *Note to parents: NEVER let your child quit something just because they are frustrated and don't want to do it anymore. One day they will thank you!

I've been thinking about writing about talents for several weeks now, but I wanted to think about it for a while so that I could come up with a few things that I do feel I'm good at.

• Number one is twofold . First, I have an amazing memory and second, I'm thoughtful. My great memory isn't the useful kind of memory where I can recall the things I learned in high school, or the plot lines of different movies I've watched or books I've read, but I have a great memory of the things that have happened in my life, my interactions with people, etc. I love talking to people, finding out who they are, what they think, what their life has been like, their likes and dislikes, etc. When people talk, I listen and I remember the things they say.

• I'm generous. For some reason I've always had a strong desire to give things to people. I love picking out things I think that person would like, or doing things that I think would make them happy, especially when it's a surprise.

• I'm good at accepting the Lord's will and being okay with it, even if I don't particularly like it. I have complete trust in the Lord and I know that He has a plan for me/my life. His plan for me definitely makes my life more physically difficult, but knowing that all things happen for a reason makes living a challenging life easier.

• I'm happy and positive. This might not seem like much of a talent, but it is to me. There are so many miserable people in the world who struggle with this, but it comes easy for me. I'm happy 99% of the time, even though I've had to face a lot of disappointment. (This is where number three comes into play again.)

• I think I'm a "real" writer. (As in honest, not special.) I have a humble writing style. I'm not gifted when it comes to knowing big words, or things like that, but I do think I have the ability to write in such a way as to touch the hearts of others. I think it helps that I'm always really honest with my feelings, so that makes me relatable to people.

A good memory, being thoughtful and generous, accepting the Lord's will and being happy and positive definitely aren't the traditional responses you'd expect to hear if you asked, "What are your talents?" but these are the talents that I've been blessed with.