No Skill Is Alone

No Skill Is Alone
by Carl Christian

Neck and neck, gasping for air with aching muscles, two marathon runners stretch and strain to the finish line. What talent! What gifts! The incredible opportunities, diligence, and hard work are paying off for them. But it takes only one pebble, one wrong step, one fall, and then only one runner crosses the finish line.

One of the common fallacies of optimistic youth (and some of us older folks) is that we are overly dependent upon personal giftedness. Or we make the mistake and envy the giftedness of others. You can assume you will achieve great accomplishments because your gift is great. Or you can feel dissatisfied and unfulfilled because you haven't found “your gift” yet.

You forget - or ignore - countless gifted predecessors before you. They know that possessing a gift (like writing) does not guarantee success. Actually, when you concentrate exclusively on your gift, it can often CAUSE defeat.

You could be a teacher and spend years developing expertise – but lack skill in helping a student unravel the complexities and enigmas of the subject matter. Also, you could ruin your educational career with seemingly unrelated decisions that lack wisdom. Or you may never reach your full potential because you refused to learn that dreaded software program outside your comfort zone. You can self-defeat if you don’t realize that no skill is alone.

A writer needs to practice not only writing, but also must learn other skills. This includes technical expertise with word processors. It may also mean learning HTML if you have a web site. What good is your writing if you lack research skills or finding publishing opportunities and marketing know-how? Or how about customer service skills, juggling child care, learning to write a book, or other writing-related tasks? One area of naive thinking or inexperience can hinder your gift and your work.

Undeveloped character qualities are dream destroyers. We can trip over these pebbles like: humility in accepting correction, lack of diligence, messy work when only neatness counts, impatience leading to wrong decisions, and the list goes on.

A mature, wise lifestyle guards the potential of our gifts - immaturity or unwise habits waste potential giftedness.

If you were the fastest track star in the world you would be useless if you didn't tie your shoes, watch for pebbles, and developed your muscles in only one leg! Silly, you say? No, it’s normal. Look! Listen! Learn!

The Bible says to lay aside every weight in order to run the race. Think you have a gift? Develop it! Sharpen it! Pray over it! Beware - it only takes one small rock to trip you up. The world is filled with pebbles in your path and wasted opportunities. Regret is terrible and painful. It is one matter when you fail because the task was too large – it’s quite another to "almost" succeed because you neglected to wisely count ALL the costs.

Be encouraged! If you've read this far, there is hope. God makes straight paths. God picks up the fallen and binds their wounds. God uses situations, friendships, and even articles you read in your development as a writer. Be encouraged! The sooner you learn the lessons, develop complementary skills, practice godly habits you need, then the sooner you reach the finish line for any challenge!