Stir Up the Gift

I have been thinking about gifts a lot lately. Not gifts as in presents that you receive from another, but gifts in the realm of talents, “natural” skills … the things that we do with seemingly no effort at all that others may struggle with. For the first time in my life I am up close and personal with people as they operate fully in their gifts. I am not sure if this is maturity settling in, if those around me are truly honing in on the areas where they excel versus running the rat race of attempting to be like the people around them, or if I have removed the cover from the own eyes that have prohibited me from seeing others as they operate in unique areas different from my own. Whatever the cause may be, I am thankful. I am thankful that I can see what it means to be gifted and the freedom that comes with operating within that gift. I am thankful that I am shifting to a space that allows me to see others, not in a measure against my own interests and talents, but in their own creative space of gifted-ness. And perhaps, most importantly, I am thankful that I am finally realizing my own gifts and searching for valuable ways to nurture them. My hope is that I learn to fully resist the urge to compare my gifts to those of others, appreciate those that I have been given, and show by gratitude by sharing them with the world.