The only reality show I enjoying watching these days is America’s Got Talent (AGT) and although I’m usually quite amazed at the many gifted people who perform on the show, I sometimes feel a little down after watching each week’s episode simply because I don’t currently have a single talent that I could ever take onto that stage.
Yet, even though I’m not a magician, a comedian, a dancer, a singer, a dare artist, a ventriloquist, or any of the other types of acts that tend to make it past the first round on AGT, I do have a talent to communicate pretty well in life through both my speech and written word. Unfortunately, that’s not something that would ever get me anywhere in the largest talent show in our country.
So why is my lack of an AGT-type talent getting me so down?
It all comes down to my ego, as it keeps trying to convince me that to matter in this world, I need to become recognized for something.
And you know what?
That’s total bullshit, excuse my French.
I matter in this world, and so do you, not because we have some talent that puts us on the map. We matter because we each have a special uniqueness that was given to us by something Greater.
And while that special uniqueness may not ever be the “something” that makes us famous, it is “something” that still does serve a very special purpose, one that I believe God brought us here to do.
Case in point, I have personally witnessed how my words, both written and verbal, have helped others to heal from deep wounds, to seek recovery from addiction, to make peace within themselves, to find forgiveness, and so much more. And I give all that credit to God for giving me a talent that continues to grow.
So, while that may never be a talent I could ever take onto the AGT stage in front of Simon Cowell, Mel B., Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel, it is something I feel I’m taking onto a much greater stage every single day in life, and that’s God stage, which is always all around me.
There, I perform to the best of my ability in each article I write, in every moment I share in a recovery meeting, and all the other times I share my experience, strength, and hope with others.
But, if you’re like me, and tend to still find yourself feeling from time to time that you don’t matter, especially when you start comparing yourself to the many gifted and talent people in the world who are stepping onto stages like AGT, remember, you too have special skills that are making a difference in this world and just as important to God.
It may be the ability to raise a child well.
It may be the ability to soothe people.
It may be the ability to organize things.
It may be the ability to light up any room you walk into.
It may be the ability to teach.
Or it may be something else.
Regardless of what it is, I truly believe we each have gifts and a uniqueness that makes us special in God’s eyes, ones I also believe we “perform” on God’s stage every day, and ones that God never, ever, buzzes us off of. In fact, it’s probably quite the opposite, as ultimately, to God, I think we’re all winners, and that’s why I know I matter, even if I never appear on America’s Got Talent…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
