He was fourteen, plagued with dyslexia and a stutter—living with music locked inside his heart. The song flowed freely in his mind, but on paper, there appeared only childish scribble in an attempt to communicate the words. The sheet contained drawings that looked more like haystacks than a melody, and was soon crumpled and left to die in the wastebasket.
That song, along with many others, may have never survived if the boy’s sister hadn’t pulled it out of the trash can to help bring it to life. His sister Sandra saw the potential in the scribble—not only saying that it was good, but helped translate those pictures into words that has changed gospel music forever.
That first gospel song was The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power, and the boy with the deficiency was Andrae Crouch. Since that time, many other songs were written—each with the help of other people who cared. Although he never learned to read music, many prominent orchestras have taken those masterpieces around the world. Some of those great works were sung by Elvis and featured in movies such as The Lion King and The Color Purple, to name a few.
You may have grown up singing Andrae Crouch’s songs. You may have thought you were listening to pure talent who needed nothing and no one. You may have never considered that such a celebrity would have difficulties or weaknesses to overcome. Now you know this couldn’t be further from the truth! Perhaps you only considered his gifts and not his weaknesses.
Isn’t it strange how we can often see another person’s talents and gifts, but when we examine ourselves, we only see our own inabilities and weaknesses? If you are like me, sometimes you see your talent living in the large shadow cast by your shortcomings.
However, I am convinced that we all have some talent—a song if you will—locked inside our hearts that we only acknowledge to the wind or set free when no one is around. And I am just as certain that we all have weaknesses that urge us to throw in the towel way too soon by calling our melody trash.
Maybe this year we all need to focus beyond our limitations, listen to those who care about us, and become part of a team where our gifts can be used and developed. There are talents and abilities waiting to be discovered and released—in your life and in mine!
“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” (1 Peter 4:10 NLT)
Enim lobortis scelerisque fermentum dui faucibus in ornare quam viverra. Quam viverra orci sagi ttis eu volutpat odio facilisis. Amet venenatis urna cursus eget nunc scelerisque viver mau insteste. Pulvinar pellentesque habitant morbi tristique. Id diam maecenas ultricies mi eget lape.
Sapien nec sagittis aliquam malesuada bibendum arcu vitae. Ac placerat vestibulum lectus mauris. Elementum sagittis vitae et leo duis ut diam quam nulla. Adipiscing elit duis tristique sollicitudin nibh sit amet commodo. Purus in massa tempor nec. Duis ultricies lacus sed turpis. Consectetur lorem donec massa sapien faucibus et. Mauris pellentesque pulvinar pellentesque habitant morbi tristique. Eu augue ut lectus arcu bibendum at. Malesuada nunc vel risus commodo viverra maecenas accumsan. Amet nisl suscipit adipiscing bibendum est.Sit amet cursus sit amet dictum sit amet justo.
Eros in cursus turpis massa. Velit laoreet id donec ultrices tincidunt arcu. Sit amet est placerat in egestas erat imperdiet sed euismod. Egestas quis ipsum suspendisse ultrices gravida. Ac tincidunt vitae semper quis lectus nulla. Integer enimest neque volutpat ac tincidunt. Molestie a iaculis at erat pellentesque adipiscing commodo elit at. Erat velit sceler isque in dictum non consectetur. Egestas dui id ornare arcu odio. Quam id leo in vitae turpis massa. At volutpat diam ut venenatis tellus in metus vulputate. Tortor pretium viverra suspendisse potenti nullam ac tortor vitae purus. Sed sed risus pretium quam vulputate dignissim suspendisse in est. Iaculis nunc sed augue lacus. Non tellus orci ac auctor augue mauris. Quis vel eros donec ac odio nulla facilisi morbi tempus. Amet nisl suscipit adipiscing bibendum est. Lectus quam.
- Suspendisse ultrices gravida dictum fusce ut placerat congue mauris.
- Viverra mauris in aliquam sem fringilla ut morbi tincidunt.
- Eget dolor morbi non arcu risus quis varius quam quisque. Quam adipiscing vitae.
- Gravida cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis.
Faucibus scelerisque eleifend donec pretium vulputate sapien nec. Ullamcorper morbi tincidunt ornare massa eget egestas purus. Pellentesque dignissim enim sit amet. Auctor augue mauris augue neque gravida in fermentum et. Accumsan in nisl nisi scelerisque. Viverra orci sagittis eu volutpat odio facilisis mauris. Sit amet venenatis urna cursus eget nunc scelerisque. Amet nulla facilisi morbi tempus iaculis urna id volutpat lacus. Amet luctus venenatis lectus magna fringilla. Hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque non tellus. Consectetur libero id faucibus nisl tincidunt eget nullam. Enim diam vulputate ut pharetra sit amet aliquam id. Eu ultrices vitae auctor eu augue ut lectus arcu bibendum. Tempor orci eu lobortis elementum nibh tellus molestie nunc non. Eu tincidunt tortor aliquam nulla facilisi cras fermentum.