I have no excuse as to why I’ve let this blog flounder. It’s not that I didn’t have the desire to write, but I couldn’t come up with a worthy (let alone interesting) subject to write about.

We all face slings and arrows in life, and they often hit where it hurts the most.

I mentioned a while ago about someone lodging a complaint against me. After months of back-and-forth, I was given a reprimand for several ethics violations. Namely not being clear enough with my words when speaking before a public board. It could have been worse, but at the same time, the arrow hit just the right spot. In this case, my confidence.

How can a wordsmith claim to be any good if he/she faces literal prosecution for not being clear enough with those words?

But God is patient. He allows us time to grieve, to consider (See Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Perhaps even a bit of self-pity (although I’ve discovered he has less patience for that).

Oddly enough I’m grateful for the entire experience. For one, I will now be even more careful with my words in the future (whether written or otherwise). I was also required to take eight hours ethics courses (all online) as a part of the reprimand. I finished the required (plus two extra) within two weeks when I had twelve months to comply.

I didn’t stop there, though. In my search for ethics courses, I found a business ethics certification course through Cornell University. I decided to sign up for that one as well, but I did it for myself, to learn something new. I just completed the second course of four, and that’s partly why I’ve not been writing any entries. Although not really, because the course requirements don’t take up that much of my time.

So why do I write an entry now, and why did I chose that specific title?

Because, according to God, my time of self-pity and grief is done.

I’ve been watching “The Chosen” (see http://www.chosentv.com) through the Angel app. Along with “The Chosen” are other series on the app, so I decided to watch one called “The Testament” which is about the Book of Acts, but it takes place in more modern times. The main character is Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke as well as Acts.

The last scene is of Peter finding a net in the grass and tells Luke about how Jesus called him, a fisherman, to be a fisher of men. He then said (paraphrased) “Your writing is your net to share the story of Jesus.”

How can this writer, who hasn’t been writing much, not be convicted by that? Or to put it another way, he used that scene to figuratively slap me upside the head.

That’s not to say I can (or should) compare myself to the writers of the New Testament, let alone the gospels. Perish the thought!

But when God gives us a talent, our duty is to not let it flounder. Certainly not because of a moment of self-pity.