Being Open to God's Gifts!

I have never been one to watch reality shows or so called talent shows, particularly “American Idol”, however, through YOUTUBE, I have had the opportunity to view a couple of newly discovered talents through the talent show titled, “Britain’s Got Talent.” Two of the talents that I have been most struck by have been the voices of Susan Boyle and Jamie Pugh.
When you watch the clip of Susan Boyle walking onto the stage and viewing the three judges and more particularly the audiences reaction, I was struck by a problem that so many of us are plagued with – that of prejudicial thinking and what we then receive from this behavior. When Susan walked on, there was a sense from the audience that this was going to be nothing more than a waste of time at the very least and possibly something hard to endure at the very most. There were actions of ridicule picked up by the panning of the camera. It was intensified with the dialog that went on between the judges and Ms. Boyle. But when she began to sing her selection the audience was stunned to hear such an angelic voice. Within the first bar, the audience was cheering, clapping and standing on their feet in wild appreciation for such a fine talent.
With Jamie Pugh, there was not the sense of disbelief that the man standing in front of the audience would do poorly, but rather a respectful wonder of, “can this guy actually sing?” For Jamie, it was a test of not his talent but of his ability to be able to sing in front of 4,000 people. Jamie was a warehouse man by day and a pizza delivery man by night. The general feeling was someone of this type would be mediocre at best. When I watched Jamie sing, I was brought to tears by his sensitivity to the words and music of the song as well as blessed by the quality of his voice. I also could relate to the feeling of being scared in front of large crowds, putting yourself on the line, to be torn to shreds should the audience not appreciate what you had to offer them – a piece of your inner self.
What has come to my mind and once again being reminded of is the numerous blessing that we can receive when we are open to receiving them or the ability to close off and not receive blessings because of our pre-judgments. Everyone in that audience thought Susan Boyle had nothing to offer them. Had she been put off by their pre-judgments, then none of us would have had the blessing that comes from her singing. The same goes with Jamie Pugh, if he allowed the belief of many that a pizza delivery man has no talent, we again would have missed this beautiful talent that God has given Jamie to share with this world.
How many times do we deny ourselves of receiving God’s blessings each day, just because we have a preconceived notion about something or someone? How often do we allow ourselves to be influenced by others preconceived idea’s and limitations and do not share the gifts that God has given us to share? I fear more times that what we ever will recognize. Racism, Ageist, Sexist, Social Economic, Politicalism and anything else that closes the mind and heart deter us from receiving Gods blessings. Being open and living in the moment is basic to being able to enjoy all the gifts that our loving God so wants to lavish us with. So the next time you find yourself “turning off” because of some pre-judgmental thought, just open up and step beyond that thought and let yourself be experience the many blessings that are at your feet!