Entrusted with a Gift

I went to bible study this morning and the topic really hit home for me. 

We were discussing the parable of the talents. And I may get this horribly wrong, but this is what it meant to me:

Talents are things given to us by the Master--something he chooses to give us. To entrust us with. What we do with our talents is up to us. Remember this. 

Parallel to this story we are discussing our "labels" in life. Some we give ourselves and some are given (or entrusted) to us. For example, some of us are "blind", some of us have "diabetes", some of us are "widowed", some of us are "infertile", and some of us are "a mother to a sick child". 

Now we have a choice, just like in the parable, we can choose to hide our labels behind anger, resentment, or denial; OR we can invest in what we've been given and multiply it. 

I did not choose for my daughter to have a rare disease. But I do choose to learn from it and hopefully help others as well. I am extremely humbled to know that I have been entrusted with this sweet soul. And what a shame it would be for me to hide this gift from others. So I am shouting it out as best I know how that MY DAUGHTER IS A BLESSING!!!!! She has made our life better just by being. Of course her being sick is hard, but I refuse to call it a trial. 

We have seen and felt blessings in many ways so far. And it is not hard to see that God's hand has led us all to exactly where we should be. We have grown closer as a family and have drawn closer to God through prayer and by putting all our trust in Him. 

My hope now, as we continue on this adventure, is that people will recognize our positive attitudes and strength and see that our "labels" do not define us, but what we choose to do with them does.