I watched a baker layer silk on velvet. Fresh raspberries, cream, chocolate. Hazelnut, liqueur, and curls. Decadence on a plate, flawlessly arranged. Tantalizing. Perfect. A hundred and six comments.
You will never be a great cook.
I watched an author sculpt wonder with his words. Awaken feeling. Evoke character. Wrap sense and subtlety in layers within layers. A century of excellence.
You will never be a great writer.
I watched a woman who knew how to sell herself, and danced like it. Motion, lights, sensuality. Confidence, poise, beauty. Brazen invitation, perfect figure, impeccable performance. A crowd gone wild.
You will never be a great lover.
I bring three things: chocolate spoons, amateur articles, and the body of a wife. I would rather not offer these gifts… would rather not burden the world with shoddy presentations.
Those of us who aren’t professional should step down:
the quickest route I know to a world entirely bereft of flavor, words, and love.
It reminds me of the quote, something about the woods being very silent if only the birds with the sweetest voices sang in the trees. I guess we’re all contributing to the sweet sounds of the forest, each in our own way.
Put on your rose tinted glasses, my dear. Instead of “you will never…” how about, “I could top that”! And then shoot for the stars. They ALL had training, hours of endless practice. Many failures you didn’t see. They’re not so different from you. You can be them if you want to. What do you want?
Many of us feel this as we strive for mastery in our fields of interest. I think about this when I see beautiful websites, when I hear dynamic preachers, when I read thought-provoking editorials, and when I hear soulful music. Why try? But answering the Creator’s call to be human means producing–not just consuming–and learning to produce and perform at high levels of quality. It’s good to do well, but it’s better to grow well.
Drummer girl…I love you for all that you are…and in spite of all that you aren’t!! None of us can be EVERYthing, but we keep working at being the best of what He has called us to be. It’s the comparative thinking that gets us women in trouble, me included.
I sometimes feel despair and gloom, because I just haven’t done enough, haven’t achieved enough. Other men in my field have done so much more than I have, at my age.
Yet as I look back at my life, and my walk with God, I know that I didn’t choose my life and work so much as it chose me. The hand of Providence has been guiding me along the way.
So I take comfort in the sovereignty of God, which is an interesting place for an Arminian believer to be. But I believe that if He wants More for me, He will guide and provide.
(this is a very brief perspective on a very deep subject)
Well. You rate up there with the pros in my mind!
Sometimes when I read Gene Edwards or Ann Voskamp, or even your writings, 🙂 I wonder why I ever try to express what I am thinking. I really like that last sentence. A great symphony is played when many play a single note in tune, in time.
Deepeight, I am right there with you, and I am greatly encouraged by the fact that I don’t have to be the best just do my best. Great post!
Beautiful, simply beautiful.
This touches me in the deepest part of my soul. Thank you.
What a deep and contemplating poem! You have a gift.