He woke as he does every morning with his cat meowing for food. He slowly slipped out of bed and slipped on his house shoes and walked to the kitchen. Just another day that would end without meaning. Have you ever awaken with those thoughts? Have you looked back at the end of the day and thought what purpose was there in what you did that day?
I found the following story in the workbook, "
One 2 Won" by
Joe White and I hope it will help you see that even a day without meaning can be the stepping stone to a great achievement.
The winter of 1498 was memorable for its bitter cold. The city of Florence, Italy, was blanketed in snow, and Michelangelo Buonarroti's heart was as heavy as the gray clouds that dipped low and blocked out the sun.
The Grand Duke of Florence, Lorenzo de' Medici, had been the young artist's benefactor. It was this great supporter of the arts who had given Michelangelo the numerous slabs of marble he needed to refine his incredible talents. But before Michelangelo was able to create his masterpieces, the old duke died, and his son, Piero, had no use for a sculptor on the payroll. So the great artist's talents were put on the shelf, and Michelangelo sat and waited. That is, until a few days before a great party at the new duke's palace.
In what looked like an incredible answer to his prayers, Michelangelo was summoned before Piero. He'd never been to the palace, even when the grand duke had been alive, and he hurried down the streets, past the guards, and in to see Duke Piero.
While he was afraid to believe it, the rumor circulated by the servant who came to fetch Michelangelo was that he was being commissioned to carve a great statue! At last!
When Michelangelo arrived at the palace, he was ushered into a large room where not only Duke Piero de' Medici but also a crowd of the duke's friends awaited his arrival. He was indeed told that his services as a sculptor were needed by his new patron. All he had to do was to go down to the garden, and he'd find all the white marble he needed to make a masterpiece for the duke's party.
Can you guess by now what the duke was actually asking Michelangelo to do? All the white marble in the garden was... snow. Perhaps the greatest sculptor of all time had been brought tot he palace to create a snow sculpture for a royal dinner party!
Just imagine for a moment what was going through Michelangelo's mind as he walked from the room and down to the garden. If it had been me, I'd have been furious. What an embarrassment! What a colossal waste of time - to put all that effort into something that would melt as soon as the sun broke through the clouds!
Michelangelo could have stormed out or at least left the duke's presence with an angry, unwilling heart. Instead, he simply went to work. Hour after hour he gathered snow and packed it tightly into a great mound. Then, at last, he began to carve.
Working from top down a head appeared, and then the shoulders, limbs, torso, and legs. A figure was emerging from the white snow that would be viewed as a joke by the Duke Piero and his guests, and then melt away in no time.
Yet still, Michelangelo worked. That's because he had decided in his heart that even if all he could do was make Florence a more beautiful place for a few hours - he would put all his heart into carving that block of snow. And then it came time for Piero's party.
The guests arrived. The snow carving finally was unveiled... and instead of laughter came breathless silence. The duke and his guests were staring in awe and amazement at the figure in the snow that seemed able to breathe and walk and even sling a rock at a giant.
The Duke was silenced by the tireless efforts of the young artist who had created a masterpiece of the Biblical David made of snow.
Then, amazingly, that statue turned into marble. Not that hour, of course, for it wasn't magic. But in the days that followed, Michelangelo's David was replicated in marble - given to him by none other than Duke Piero himself. This priceless work has drawn millions of people to Florence since it was unveiled - all because Michelangelo was willing to carve something of beauty out of snow...
It is true you and I might be a great artist or we will never stand in front of a duke to be commissioned to do a great work of art. It is true that our work, our ministry might not appear to be accomplishing anything. This story about how Michelangelo took a similar situation and turned it into something that would last beyond his life can illustrate how what you and I are doing can be something that will last beyond our life time.
If you are a follower of Jesus you have been given a commission to share what He has done in your life. You never know what will happen as you sit with someone and share with them your faith in Christ. That person could be moved by the Holy Spirit to respond and then later become someone like Billy Graham and be used by God to reach millions.
One day, like the statue Michelangelo made of snow, our work will melt away and what is revealed will depend upon what we did with what God gave us when we received the Holy Spirit as we accepted Jesus as our savior. If we put our whole heart into using the gifts and talents that God has given us in serving Him then what seems to be unimportant and meaningless now will turn into a great work of art in His hands.
So what are you going to do with the snow God has placed in your life?
