The Gift

Well, its that time of year again. We’re approaching October 1^st, and that can only mean one thing – football is in full swing!  Oh yeah, wait; what I meant to say is that it is my wife Kristy’s birthday!  Her birthday always seems to last 3-4 days in our household, and deservedly so. She takes care of Joseph and I so well and because of that, she deserves a few days of increased attention from her guys through thoughtful gifts (OK, the neck pillow from a few years back was not that thoughtful, I admit it), a nice family outing to enjoy what is usually beautiful weather, and always a night out for a great dinner without a certain now 6 year old!

You know, when we think about birthdays, we always first think of gifts. We love to receive gifts, but it’s also just as much, if not more fun to give them. The look of surprise when you give someone something they would never think to purchase themselves, or the look of joy when you give someone that very thing that they’ve maybe wanted, or did not know they wanted. That is one of my favorite things about Christmas is to see Joseph bouncing down the stairs Christmas morning to see the tree lit up, a fire going in the fireplace and gifts from Santa under the tree with the awe and excitement in his eyes, and the joy and happiness in his heart. But I’ve seen so many people, especially kids, get even more excited waiting for someone close and special to them to open a gift that they’ve given them. I’ve seen this at numerous birthday parties we’ve attended with Joseph and his friends where the kids can barely contain their excitement waiting for the birthday boy or girl to open their gift. And I feel this way too! Most times I cannot wait to give Kristy her gift and end up giving it to her early because I am so excited for her. That’s one good thing about me being a procrastinator – I don’t have to hold onto the gift long before the big day. This must have been a small glimpse of how God felt right before Jesus was born!  Imagine His excitement to give that gift to humanity!

But there’s one thing about gifts that can be kind of sad. So many times, we get gifts that we may use for a while, or we give our kids a toy, or game, or even a book that they may play with or read for a while and then they sit on a shelf or in a box – unused and collecting dust. From time to time, we receive gifts and we love them, and we love the people that gave them to us, but all too often they sit in a corner or in a closet out of sight. I see a lot of this with my son, just with all the toys he has. But I think we’ve all done this to a certain extent with the gifts we‘ve been given. I’m not talking material gifts or wealth, but rather the talents and capabilities we have been given as people. We sometimes take things for granted, and oftentimes we don’t use the talents God gave us.  Maybe this is in our jobs, maybe our families, or perhaps in the church or in the community. Sure, it’s great to be able to get paid to do something we love that fully embraces our God-given talents where we can make a difference in peoples lives and the world. But it’s also about using your gifts at other times in your life to do the same – whether it’s in the community, your church, or in society. 

Do you have talents that you are not using? Do you have qualities and abilities that set you apart, things that you can do better than anyone else that would make a difference in this world, but you’re not really doing?  Or, are you kind-of using the gifts you’ve been given, but just doing the bare minimum? Can you do more?  Do you see the ability where maybe you can change your job, or your career, or volunteer in areas that better align with your talents? Or if you are frustrated with your career, do you have a gift where you could start a business doing something that you love that would provide a service to society? Sometimes it’s a huge risk. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone. Sometimes you have to take that leap of faith. I think we all can reflect on this and learn something about ourselves. I know I can do more. I know I must do more.

But if we live our lives not using our gifts and talents and keep them on that dusty shelf, or locked in that dark closet in our head while we continue to do the bare minimum, then we are wasting those gifts. People do a lot of good in this world, but if we all put in a little extra effort to do more of the things we do well, and focus more on the positive things we have to offer, this world would be a much better place. Find what it is you love to do, what it is you’re best at, and then do it. Chances are, that is your gift.

As a guy named Paul once wrote – “If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly…”

Not everyone can make a living doing what he or she loves or whatever his or her gift is. Sometimes we have to have day jobs. But we can all make a difference. Everyone has a gift; something that no one on this earth was put here to do as well as you, and we have the duty and responsibility to seek the answer on how we can use it. Don’t just let it sit on the shelf.