Our family enjoys playing music. My daughter, Lindsey played the clarinet in jr. high, high school, and college. My son, Bryce, played the drums. Both were in the Wentzville High School marching band. This meant traveling on the weekends, sitting in bleachers in rain & snow, drinking lots of hot chocolate, and becoming a fan of marching band competitions. It actually was a lot of fun.

During that time, Bryce decided he wanted to play drums in a band and so we bought him a kit. Moms and dads, you know how it works . . . "Okay, we'll buy you a drum set, but you have to pay us back." Riiiiight. That would be a great national stat to track; how many musical instruments are in closets or basements collecting dust?

They weren't just a starter kit; nooooo. This was a candy apple red Pearl edition we purchased from Mozingo Music in St. Louis.

Bryce started a band with several of his high school friends. They practiced weekly and played weird music by bands I'd never heard of. They even played cover songs by Chicago that (when they got through with it) didn't sound anything like Chicago. Anyway, they had fun.

Then one day Bryce lets us know they booked a show at a local coffee shop/diner! They get ready for their big show. The audience turned out to be the moms and dads and a couple of potential girlfriends. When they were through we gave them hugs, congratulated them, and the owner handed them a check for $25. (Long pause.) Everybody's gotta start somewhere, right? I mean it's better than playing a sax outside Busch Stadium in 104 degree heat, isn't it?

Here's the kicker . . . that was the last time the band played. They'd hit their mark. The band broke up, the drums moved back into our basement, and Bryce heads to Mizzou.

Fast forward.

A church needed a set of drums for their ministry, so Bryce, now a college student, sold his drums to them. He got his check, they got the drums. End of story. No, not quite.

That ministry used the drum kit for six months; someone decides they need a new kit, so Bryce's kit gets bagged and put in storage. There they sat . . . for 5 years.

This past week we launched a new ministry at Fellowship Bible Church; FELLOWSHIP KIDS introduced "live worship." Singers, a loud band, dancing, and fun. My understanding is that when the band began to play (which the kids had never experienced before) the children just stood there kinda shocked, then halfway through the first song began to clap, dance, and move to the worship songs.

This past week Cheri Bradley and I talked and realized there are some needs for the worship team. One of them was a drum kit.

(You're getting ahead of me.)

That's right . . . we found Bryce's old kit and Fellowship Bible bought them out of storage, dusted them off, and today they sit in FELLOWSHIP KIDS ready to use this Sunday! When I was cleaning them up this morning I thought, "One kid got a blessing out of using these. God, I dedicate these drums again to you that many children would receive a blessing. Maybe one of these kids will grow up and be a worship pastor or be a drummer in some type of ministry. Take these drums and use them for Your glory. They belong to You, God."

Here's my question. How many spiritual gifts and talents are sitting in the "closet of your heart" or in your "basement of fear." The truth is, God already bought and paid for them. Maybe it's time to dust them off and bring them out of storage.