Talents sometimes bring fame. However, just because you are not on the billboard list does not mean that you do not have talents. What makes you, you? It has to be the gifts and talents that uniquely identify you. Some gifts are appreciated. Some are unappreciated.
Yesterday we discussed the principles of design: emphasis, unity, balance, contrast, rhythm, movement and patterns. Today we will focus on emphasis. In every complete design, there is emphasis. You are the design of God’s hands, drafted from the mind of the Master Designer. Certainly, you are designed with the principle of emphasis.
Let us follow the principle. What makes the ice-cream so delicious? It is the combination of the cream with the cold. Take away one, and you only have the other. A piece of art that is solid black is just as boring as a piece of art that is solid-white. Place them adjacent to each other and they will complement each other, but still maintain their unique color. Additionally, a painter is skilled because he knows how to mix the colors well. He knows how to emphasize the dark areas and lighten some areas so that they stand out in the artwork.
Designers understand the importance of emphasis, which makes parts of the design stand out from the rest. Emphasis is an important principle of design, because the object of emphasis pulls the eye. It draws attention to itself, naturally, respectfully, humbly but confidently. Our Master Designer has wisdom that supersedes our comprehension. When He thought of you, He specifically gave you something to emphasize who you are. There is something about you that pulls the eye, it calls the attention of others to you, naturally. He gave you something that is only yours, not just your fingerprints, but also your special gifts.
Your special gifts include your mole, your dimples, your bald spots, your teeth or your wrinkles. Your cheeks, your chin and your grin are also your unique points of emphasis—both the appreciated and the unappreciated. All of these are part of your genes, but they are also part of your design. It is better to see the blessings in them than to wish your whole life to be somebody else or look like somebody else. Emphasized objects do not blend in; so do not try to camouflage with the world. Be a present and pleasing person of emphasis that reveals God’s grace and blessings.
Special gifts also include your skills and talents. It would seem nice if the world was just full of geniuses, but it would instead be a confused bunch of enlightened people. God knows that a world of full of singers would be full of discord. A world full of preachers would be a noisy world; everyone would be preaching, and no one would be listening. Therefore, He designed us to have unique emphasis. He created you with something that lets you complement the rest of us, but there is also something about only you that will accentuate your corner. It may extend into the world and bring you fame, or it just may be good enough for your corner. Are you covering it up—too shy to share it, or too uncertain to develop it? Then you are not accentuating your corner. A light in a small dark corner, is just as powerful as a huge lamp in a large room. They both give light.
Complement others as you accentuate your talents. We were designed to shine our light in the world but not to outshine others. Our unique points of emphasis does not make us better; unique, yes, but not better. Women arch the eyebrows, and men shave their beards to accentuate the face, but not to outshine the body. Instead, their faces complement the rest of their body. Accentuation bring emphasis in one area but complement the other areas. Take some time and examine yourself and your life. What makes you stand out? Those are your points of emphasis. Be pleased. Be proud about who you are and what you can do. God is an intelligent and wise God, and what He gave you has to be just right for you.
Sadly, those who seek to conceal their points of emphasis, cheat the beauty, the purpose and the completeness of the design. Ask any designer and he will tell you that emphasis as a design principle, reveals the purpose of the art. An artist would not emphasize something he does not want others to see or understand about the composition. Would God give you something that stands out for you to hide? I do not think so. People struggle to find their purpose. Here is a clue, think about your points of emphasis.
As you examine your life, make a list of the things that God gave you as points of emphasis. Accept the not-so-welcoming gifts. Build on the not-so-developed talents that you have, and go out and accentuate the world because your gifts and your talents are your unique points of emphasis. They bring completion to your life and add grandeur to the world.
Romans 12:6, “In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well” (NLT).
Art: Avocet Brooks
Finding Fortunes 
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