Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Talent (01/08/26)
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TITLE: Light Under a Bushel | Previous Challenge Entry
By LINDA GERMAIN
01/14/26 -
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Her ability to feed into Dad’s dry wit was new to us, and we happily laughed at her unplanned antics. On a family trip around the southwest, she accidentally mailed postcards in a trash can with a flip lid. She was able to retrieve them, but it became a silly non-event often retold to highlight yet one more of her Lucy Ricardo moments. At the time, our giggling did not seem rude, but on second thought, perhaps it was--a little.
The big difference in so many amusing misunderstandings seemed to arise from cultural differences. She was a native New Englander, and we were from the South. That reality produced enough fodder for an overdose of mirth simply from trying to understand each other's “foreign” language. She had never heard of cornbread, grits, or red-eye gravy, but she adored mincemeat pie, frappes, and fruit cake. That was a real stumper for a southern kid.
She had a responsible job as a nurse in a Veteran’s Hospital, but after work, she was just our little Margie who played sidekick to her husband’s witty personality. Their interactions often seemed like a comedy sketch. Instead of responding with anger to his innocent teasing, she graciously laughed with him and at herself. She loved him dearly and was a faithful wife and companion for nearly forty years.
One of the main places from which he drew his humor material was her cooking. She was very aware of her lack of basic culinary talent but kept plugging along anyway. Just because she wasn’t excellent at something didn’t mean she didn’t try, although the kitchen thing never seemed to improve.
After she retired the first time, she had a long list of things to attempt. Learning to play the piano was at the top. After months of lessons and diligent practicing, her teacher suggested that continuing would not make her one dollop better. Dad was relieved when she stopped the merciless banging on keys and headed for something quieter. Next, she chose art.
After her beginning lesson in drawing, she proudly came home to show him her first assignment. She made him guess what she had created. After pondering the masterpiece for several minutes, he asked for a clue.
She blurted, “Can’t you see? It’s a self-portrait!”
His response was fairly blunt. “I thought it was a Chinese lady.”
She said she had loved tap dance lessons as a young teenager, but admitted that she, her sister, and her mother were nearly evicted from a two-story apartment when the downstairs people complained about the constant stomping upstairs. She finally understood she would never be a Radio City Music Hall Rockette and abruptly put an end to their neighbor’s daily headaches.
I found her high school yearbook. Under plans for the future, she had stated she hoped to be an opera singer! After an involuntary gasp, I did not have the heart to ask how a person who could not carry a tune would aspire to that lofty goal. Any negative comment would have been mean-spirited. No reason to go there.
Sewing lessons produced a jumper for me that was noticeably higher on one side of the zipper in the back, which she very sweetly defended.
“Don’t worry, it will never show on a jumping jack.”
Did she not appreciate that I was fourteen and did not leap up and down at school? Realizing there was no fixing this, I opted to wear a sweater to hide the gap.
The many failed classes she took in attempting to find her hidden gifts might seem to have been a hopeless search. Wrong! Hers were always there but merely hiding in a unique package of joy, kindness, and a hunger to never stop trying new things.
Her impact on my life cannot be measured in the talent she did not have, but in her ability to stay calm, pray, and proceed with faith--a sermon without words. Her good humor and genuine trust was her uncompromised witness for the love of Jesus.
Those precious, God-given traits will beat bad cooking and clumsy dancing anytime!
_____
*True
Romans 12:6-8 NLT
In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
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But I found most touching was:
"Her impact on my life cannot be measured in the talent she did not have, but in her ability to stay calm, pray, and proceed with faith--a sermon without words."
What a beautiful portrait of your stepmother.