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.
