Cast Your Bread: Embracing Your Talents During Downtime

Most of us are familiar with the song “Turn, Turn, Turn” penned by Pete Seeger in 1959. Its iconic 1965 folk-rock cover by The Byrds topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. However, what many don’t know is that this timeless wisdom was originally written nearly 3,000 years ago by King Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes.

As a small business owner, you can certainly relate to Solomon’s profound insight: “To everything there is a season.”

Each day brings a unique set of challenges and emotions—trials and triumphs, project wins and losses. Sometimes, the workload is overwhelming, while other times, it feels like a never-ending drought.

I find solace in the seasons of abundance. I relish the opportunity to connect with partners, immerse myself in the creative process, and release my final projects into the world. As a doer, I thrive on the satisfaction of sitting down to a full to-do list each morning.

However, I dread the slow seasons.

When the work dries up, doubts creep in. Do people still know about me? Am I still relevant? Is AI taking over all my projects? How will I provide for my family? Fear and anxiety often lead us to retreat, hoard our resources, and shrink back.

In Ecclesiastes 11, Solomon offers a peculiar set of instructions for these very moments: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.”

He’s not suggesting we throw a loaf of Wonder Bread into the river. In this metaphor, bread represents our resources—our time, talents, and treasures. The sea symbolizes a complete lack of control. It’s vast, treacherous, and entirely unpredictable.

There are seasons when God asks us to surrender our resources and let them go into the unknown. This is the exact opposite of hoarding; it’s an invitation to create simply for the joy of it, to bring beauty into the world without expecting anything in return. We create because we are made in the image of a Creator who loves beauty and expression.

Here’s what happens when you decide to cast your bread upon the waters.

Show, Don’t Tell (The Cambodia Posters)

In November 2009, I was working at a creative studio I had helped co-found 12 years earlier. One Saturday morning, I received a text message informing me that the company was closing that Wednesday.

I was terrified. My paycheck was disappearing, my family’s health insurance was vanishing, and I had a mortgage, a wife who was a full-time stay-at-home mom, and two young children. Despite interviewing for several jobs, I felt God calling me to embark on my own. However, I was unemployed and needed to demonstrate to the world that my capabilities extended beyond just designing logos.

I looked around my house at the vintage cameras I cherished collecting at flea markets. I selected my four favorites and decided to create a set of screen-printed art prints to sell on my website. I didn’t anticipate making a profit, but I embraced the project wholeheartedly. I did the same with classic Schwinn bicycles and Vespa motor scooters. At $30 per piece, we barely managed to sell a few each month. It certainly wasn’t enough to cover our expenses.

At that time, our church collaborated with an organization in Cambodia that provided homes for orphaned children. Our family had sponsored two of them; their photos adorned our refrigerator, and our children knew them by name. I felt a profound calling to accompany our church on a trip to visit them and bring my entire family. The cost would be $12,000—an insurmountable financial burden for us.

Then, my wife uttered something truly audacious: “Why don’t we ask God to sell enough of your prints to finance the trip?”

We prayed, and over the next four months, we sold $15,000 worth of screen-printed posters. We didn’t just take the trip; we bought the orphanage a new motorbike and sent one of the kids to college for a year.

The Labor of Love (Chin Up Chinchilla)

When my friend Beth approached me to illustrate her children’s book, Chin Up Chinchilla, I knew I had to take on the project. However, I also understood that self-publishing meant I might not recoup the time and effort I invested.

Despite the slow season, I had the opportunity to work on the project. I could almost hear God urging me not to miss this chance. I decided to use the project to push my illustration skills beyond my current abilities. I had been searching for a reason to learn how to create and use custom brushes in Adobe Illustrator, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Once the book was finished, we launched a Kickstarter campaign to produce hardcover copies. To our surprise, we were fully funded within just five days. As part of the campaign, we offered a $100 reward tier that included a live, three-hour Adobe Illustrator workshop where I shared all my knowledge about custom brushes. I spent a week creating the course, and it was incredibly well-received. A friend encouraged me to offer the workshop again, and I was amazed to see that it was a huge success. Since then, I have had the opportunity to present the workshop at various conferences, design organizations, and colleges across the country. The other result is that the experience led to working with publishers to illustrate several children’s books. Without making the books, I would have never ended up on their radar.

Story 3: Casting for Growth (The Zoo Animals)

A few spring and summer seasons ago, business was extremely slow. To make matters worse, I was sued by a client. After months of legal expenses, she filed for bankruptcy just before the trial, resulting in a significant financial loss of $10,000.

I descended into a deep depression and anxiety. Seeking a distraction, I took my family to the Columbus Zoo. Watching the gibbons swing from the branches, I found a spark of inspiration. I decided to create a series of animal illustrations—a gibbon, Humboldt penguins, a sloth, and a red panda—pushing my artistic boundaries and exploring Adobe Illustrator’s lesser-known capabilities. I tagged the Columbus Zoo on Instagram, hoping it would lead to future collaborations.

Surprisingly, the zoo didn’t hire me. Despite a few likes from my followers, nothing significant happened immediately.

Two and a half months later, an email landed in my inbox from a Senior Editor at Adobe. The email read,

“We’d love to create a tutorial on how to create your own texture brushes in Illustrator and also give away a pack of five brushes to our subscribers. I came across your brush sets and believe they’d be an excellent fit for our content. The fee for this project is $5,000.”

You can see the final project here.

By channeling my creativity during my lowest point, I secured a substantial return on an investment of time that I had initially considered a mere personal distraction.

Don’t Bury Your Talent

In times of abundance, it’s easy to become so engrossed in daily tasks that we overlook opportunities for personal growth. However, I’ve learned to embrace all seasons. The only thing that truly calms my mind during the slower periods is the reassurance that God is good and faithful.

When it comes to the resources and gifts we possess, we must remember the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. The master entrusts his wealth to his servants before leaving town, expecting them to put those resources to work and generate a return. All God asks is that we return the talents He has entrusted to us.

Don’t bury your gifts like the faithless servant.

How can you transform challenging seasons into opportunities for growth? When was the last time you created something simply because your heart yearned to do so, rather than out of obligation?

Jesus performed incredible miracles with bread. He took a small child’s lunch and miraculously fed 5,000 people, leaving behind twelve baskets of leftovers. This demonstrates an astonishing return on a modest investment. Trust in the Creator and cast your offerings upon the waters. Utilize your talents and relinquish your desire for control, allowing the Creator to work wonders with the gifts you return to Him.