DO 23772/86

—Talk to 6-Year-Old Techi, Who Was Discouraged Over Not Being Able to Draw

1. Did you hear that Scripture I gave you? "Let every man abide in the calling wherein he is called!"—1Cor.7:20.—According to his gifts. God gives the gifts! If He didn't give you the gift of being an artist, that's 'cause He didn't want you to be an artist, He wants you to be something else! But you've got the gift of being a dancer & an actress, a speaker & a reader & a writer, you've got all kinds of gifts! You're a brilliant student, you're beautiful! Think of all the gifts that you have! You're our daughter, that's pretty important. Just because you don't happen to be an artist yet, you might be some day, but it takes a lot of drawing!

2. Did you know that both Jac & Eman, two of our best Family artists‚ had to go through years of training before they could draw like that?—Years in art school! You don't just draw right off the bat! (Techi: It's much nicer than I could have ever drawn.) Of course! They draw much nicer than I could ever draw either! Which do you think would be more important for Grandpa to be, an artist or a writer? Artists are very important too, but we've got to have writers!

3. So don't try to be something you're not! Just be yourself, be natural! You have your gifts, I have mine, Mama has hers, everybody has different gifts! Not everybody is an artist. Paul says not everybody's an Apostle, not everybody's a missionary, not everybody speaks in tongues, not everybody interprets, not everybody is a Prophet, not all are teachers‚ not all are pastors!—1Cor.12:28-30. See, everybody has their own gifts. Everybody has their own talents & gifts given of God. So don't complain that you're not something you're not supposed to be‚ that God doesn't even want you to be!

4. Don't try to do something you can't! If you can't‚ then you're not supposed to! Grandpa doesn't try to draw pictures‚ hardly ever. I let my artists do it. I don't try to read all the mail, I can't, Mama reads it! I don't take care of all the business, I can't, Peter does it for me! (Techi: Can I ask someone else to draw it for me, like Davida?) All right, if you want to wait till tomorrow & do it. (Maria: Davida has a talent in art.) She has that gift, see, but she doesn't have a lot of the gifts you have!

5. Look, you have Grandpa, I'm one of your gifts! You have Mama, she's one of your gifts! You get to sleep here with us, that's one of your special privileges! You should be thankful for what you've got & not complain about what you haven't got! Count your blessings!

6. Now quit murmuring! You're murmuring, & that's not good‚ God doesn't like it! He even killed people for murmuring!—Millions of them out in the desert, the Jews, because after all their blessings they murmured! So He got fed up with them & just let them die out there & only let their children go to the Promised Land. (Techi: But can someone draw my picture?) Fine, wait till tomorrow & Davida or somebody can draw it for you.

7. Honey, I think you're getting tired. When you get tired‚ you get discouraged. You're getting too tired now, Sweetheart. (Techi in tears: No I'm not!) It's 12 o'clock, it is time to go to bed. (Techi: Grandpa, I am not getting tired.) You are, that's why you're crying, Honey. (Maria: She gets frustrated when she tries to draw, Grandpa!)

8. You mustn't get frustrated! I gave you a long talk about it now, & that's naughty to act like this, it's naughty! It's naughty to act like this just because you can't do something, which you may be able to do later. Maybe after you grow up you'll be able to do it. But how many little children six years old can draw pictures like our artists? Davida couldn't draw beautiful pictures when she was six years old! David couldn't draw beautiful pictures when he was six years old!

9. (Techi: But I really did want to draw a picture myself.) Honey, that's like saying, "I want to build a car." (Maria: But she did draw it‚ look at that! That's pretty good, Honey!) For a six-year-old girl you did very well, & Faithy will like the birthday card you made her!

10. Oh, Lord Jesus‚ help her right now & rebuke this spirit of grumbling & murmuring & complaining! Rebuke it right now, in Jesus' name! Help her to stop believing the lies of the Devil & to be thankful & grateful for all the things You have done for her & all the things You've given her, Lord, how good You've been to her.—To give her her Mama & her Grandpa & to be able to live with them & in their house & even in their room, so many things to be thankful for, Lord!

11. Please forgive her for complaining & murmuring & grumbling & bellyaching just because she can't draw a little picture! Lord, please forgive her! But she even did pretty well, Lord. There are no six-year-old girls who can draw beautiful pictures‚ none of them, Lord, they just don't learn to draw that early! (To Techi:) It takes time to learn to draw! Jac & Eman went to art school for years learning to draw!

12. I want you to stop this right now! I want you to start quoting some Scriptures about being cheerful & thankful! Can you think of any Scriptures about being thankful? Well, you'd better think of some instead of complaining & murmuring because you can't draw. You can draw‚ but you can't draw as good as real artists, of course. What do you expect?—To start out at six years old drawing like an artist? (Techi: But Grandpa‚ it's not that, it's that I want to draw this picture, but I can't.) So what? So what? So what? So you're complaining because you can't. (Techi: No.) Yes you are, you're murmuring because you can't!

13. You're not supposed to draw pictures! God didn't make you an artist yet! So why do you want to do something that's not your gift when you have so many other gifts! You can read better than any little girl I ever heard of, you can write better letters‚ you do all kinds of things better. Dora said you take better care of the baby than almost any of the other girls! You're such a big help to her.

14. Now I'm not going to put up with this any longer, I can't take it! I'm sorry. I love you, but I can't take it! No, I cannot take it! I can't take it! I just can't take it, your murmuring like this! Now stop it! (Techi: I won't murmur, Grandpa.) Well then stop it. (Techi: I will.) You need to go to sleep because you're sleepy. (Techi: I'm not sleepy, Grandpa.) Yes, you are. How long was your nap today? (Techi: Nothing.) No nap today? Ah, there! (Maria: But you rested, you tried to go to sleep.) Why didn't you go to sleep, was somebody making too much noise? (Techi: No.) (Maria: Sometimes she just can't go to sleep, just like at night, you know her.)

15. When you have so much to be thankful for, you should be ashamed to be complaining just because you're not an artist! (Techi: I guess I'll throw this away.) No, don't do that! Faithy will appreciate it, that you did your best to draw the picture. I like it! (Maria: I do too‚ I think it's very nice. What don't you like about it? Do you want to make Jesus look like He's sitting down, I never can do that either! I couldn't do that myself.) I thought He was sitting down, I thought He was sitting on the throne! As plain as day He's sitting on the throne, what are you talking about? He's just pointing at the Heavenly City‚ what's the matter with that?

16. I think you did very well & Faithy will really appreciate it, to think you went to all that trouble! That shows you went to a lot of trouble to try to draw her a picture, so she'll really thank you for it, she'll really appreciate it! You did try! Even if you're not an artist, you tried, just like Grandpa does. I try, but I'm not an artist, my pictures look crazy!

17. (Techi: Grandpa, can I keep drawing it?) Not if you're going to keep complaining about it! (Techi: While you're doing your diary I am going to not complain & do my picture!)

18. (Maria: She only gets this way when she tries to draw. She gets all frustrated about it.) Well, she shouldn't try to draw. (Maria: That's right, Honey‚ I don't try to draw pictures.) Mama doesn't try to be something & do something she can't do! You can't be everything! You have lots of talents & gifts & so many things to be thankful for, & then it's so stupid & silly just to cry because you can't draw! You can draw! You did draw! There it is! I can see it! The Lord must really feel bad, it really hurts Jesus when you complain like that, after He's so good to you!

19. What are you doing? (Techi: I'm erasing it.) It was beautiful! I could tell exactly what it was. (Techi: I'm going to draw it again.) Why? (Techi: To make it pretty!) It was pretty! I quit! I'm not going to talk to you any more! (Techi: Grandpa, I'm not going to complain!) Well, you're erasing your picture that you drew which was perfectly fine & I knew what it was right away & I thought it was nice! I'm sorry, I've had a hard day & I'm going to sleep. (Techi: Grandpa‚ you said I could finish it, can I?) Go ahead.

20. (Techi: Grandpa, are you going to go to sleep?) Honey, do you see what time it is? It's very late! Don't you think it's a good time to go to bed & go to sleep? So why would you cry about that?

21. I have told you time & again, you can't finish everything by the time you have to go to bed! There are lots of things we have to leave unfinished. I just leave my work there. I have to get up & leave it there & just quit! There comes a time when you have to quit! (Techi: I don't know why I'm crying.) Well, I don't want to see you cry one more tear, because it hurts Grandpa & makes me feel bad. Do you want me to cry too? (Techi: I don't know why I'm crying.) You're crying because you're tired & sleepy, I can tell you that's why! That's why! When we get tired, everything looks hard. When we get tired & sleepy, everything looks hard & discouraging & we just feel like we can't do anything. I'm telling you the truth! Now you make Grandpa feel so bad I'm going to have a hard time sleeping.

22. (Techi smiles:) That's a good girl, sunshine through the rain! TYL! (Maria: Honey, you have no problem when you're writing those complicated letters, you're real good at that!) A six-year-old child can write letters, you've written the most beautiful letters I almost ever read! And then you cry just because you can't draw a picture when you're not an artist. You're a speaker, a writer‚ an actress, a dancer, all those things!

23. You're really a good writer, Honey‚ you're amazing! (Techi: Grandpa, do you think that's a pretty picture?) Well‚ of course it's a pretty picture, I think it's very good for a six-year-old. (Techi: Maybe when I get older I'll draw better.) Of course!—If God wants you to be an artist, if God gives you the gift. (Techi: Yes‚ but if He doesn't, maybe I'll be a little bit better. Even if He doesn't give me the gift.) Well Honey, look how old I am & you've seen some of the horrible things I've tried to draw! I've lived 67 years this month & I'm still not an artist! But I don't complain about it. God knew I wasn't an artist so He gave me all kinds of artists!

24. We once had 20 artists on our payroll! We used to send them gifts for their pictures to make the Komix, etc., but when we got through with the Komix, then we just couldn't pay any more. So they're drawing pictures now for other people & other things & for the Lord in other places, for their prayer letters & all that sort of thing. We've still got 3 or 4 artists drawing for our official Family pubs. We had to let the others go. We just can't support all the artists in the World! But I am 67 years old & I still can't draw, so what are you gripin' about? (Techi: Nothing.) Right, nothing!

25. (Techi: Grandpa, is that a good way to draw Jesus?) I think it's very pretty. (Techi: It's the easiest way.) You really drew Him well. See there, so you can draw! I thought you said you couldn't draw? (Techi: I'm drawing little stick figures now.) (Maria: Good, I was thinking of suggesting that. That's why I put all those pages in the Activity Book about how to draw stick figures!—To make it easier for people who aren't accomplished artists. I think stick figure art is very cute!) —Goodnight‚ Sweetheart ("Let everyone abide in the calling wherein he is called!")—1Cor.7:20.

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family