I have heard Joyce Meyer talk about her next door neighbor who was a gardener, good cook, and seamstress. Joyce thought she was the perfect Christian wife and mother and wanted to be like her. She tried growing a garden. It got bugs and weeds. She tried sewing. She couldn't do it. She hated cooking and did it badly. She finally gave up and realized that she just wasn't that kind of person.
She says she realized that her gift is in teaching and speaking. She started Bible studies in her home and then started preaching in small auditoriums and on the radio. God has given her a wonderful gift that she now shares with thousands of people here and around the world.
I thought about how I used to want a career in archaeology when my kids grew up. I went to college to get a degree. But family duties and my own anxieties forced me to quit college. I used to be upset about what I had missed in life, and what I had given up, but like Joyce, I have come to realize my gifts lie in a different area.
My gifts are helping and serving. My family has needed me very much over the years to help with their illnesses and with their children. I'm so glad I could be here for them. I'm glad I didn't have an important career that would take me away from them. I still sometimes would like a job so I could help my husband with the bills, but it is not to be. That's okay. I know I am on the right path for me.
3 comments:
To recognize one's gifts and then to use them is, in my opinion, very wise Belle. A lot of people struggle with the idea of what their gifts are, etc, but you know we all have been given gifts by God and all of us have unique gifts. You know if we all had the same gifts then all the work wouldn't get done, right, that need to get done for God's kingdom.
I used to have "gift envy" in that my husband is this talented guitar player and could use it on the worship band at church. I thought my gift of serving in the nursery holding babies, something I enjoyed doing, was inferior compared to his gift. However, it came to my mind that by holding babies and allowing their parents that uninterrupted time in church to learn about God, it was just as important (or maybe even more so) than my husband's talents on the worship team.
So I think God just likes us to use the gifts he gave us in the work he wants us to do and I think you have found your niche with it and it does suit you well indeed!
so keep using those gifts!!!
betty
Thanks, Betty. I think you are right about your gift; it was a wonderful gift in itself for the parents.
Hi, Belle: Joyce Meyer is an inspiration to me, too.
When we realize how unique and wonderful God has created us to be, we can be so thankful for His love and good plan for our lives.
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