The power of the Gift!

There are those, when looking at the sunset or a forest, marvel not so much at the beauty of the thing but the genius of the creator. This is true for many things in life such as art or architecture. I just crossed the Confederation Bridge this week and thought how awesome it was that this could be built.

For me, I marvel at authors, writers, people with the gift to arrange letters into words and words into sentences that make anything come to life. I marvel at Dostoyevsky, not so much for his vivid imagination, many people have that, but for his ability to use just the right words at the right time to truly amaze the reader.

I have always loved writing, as long as I can remember. Whether its impatience or immaturity, I've never been able to truly excel at it. I guess I don't have the gift.

I have however, been fortunate in my life growing up in a Christian community that "Spiritual Gifts," as it is called is very important within the church body. I've taken many courses and read many books to determine my gifts. Teaching is my number one gift by the way, with preaching (public speaking) as my second.

There are many secular resources devoted to discerning people's gifts or talents. One of these is a book called "What Colour is your Parachute." Most professional development or job hunting books will have some form of this analyses in them.

All of this to say that Dostoyevsky could have been a good carpenter and Picasso a fair dentist, but if this was the case the world would have missed out immense beauty and genius.

We all need to find not just what we're passionate about but what we can actually do and do well.

Loving my vacation.

R.