Buried in Your Backyard

I remember watching a television show about a high school that dug up a time capsule that students had buried 25 years earlier. They had buried it with the purpose of showing others many years later the trends of the day and how student life was at that time. It was a fun exercise and everyone — the current students as well as those now grown — laughed at the clothing styles, corny photos, and lack of technology from years ago.

I wonder how the former students felt about how they had grown in those 25 years. How many of them realized their high school dreams? Did they find their purpose in this world and feel fulfilled in life? Did they use the talents and gifts God gave them to really make a difference in the world?

We have all been given talents and gifts by God to be cultivated and offered back to Him and those around us for His glory. As time has passed, hopefully we have taken seriously our stewardship of these gifts. But sometimes out of fear, misunderstanding, or even apathy, we have taken one or more of our gifts and buried them, hiding them away from others and stifling all growth. This is no way to honor God and certainly not a path to fulfillment in life. If we have anything buried in our backyard, we might do well to dig it back up, clean it up, and begin building upon it. Like a time capsule, those things will not be buried forever. One day the giver of that gift will ask what you have done with it. When that day comes, I pray you don’t need to find a shovel.

— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS