God has blessed each of us with unique gifts. Some of us have great
gifts, such as in teaching, healing sickness, or in giving leadership.
Other gifts, though less publicly visible, can just as surely bring
honour to God.
Over the years, we develop our skills, especially
in those things which we find easy to do or very enjoyable. As our lives
progress, new interests may arise, re-directing us into new ways that we
can use our lives for God's service.
Let me tell you about
someone named Jack, who is now in his nineties. He's been part of our
church for many years. Jack has been an active volunteer in many aspects
of the community over the years. He has played piano for seniors; he has
raised funds for worthy organizations and helped in various ways.
Over time, Jack's life and activities have changed. He lost his
driver's license because of poor vision. He could not drive, but he
could walk! I would see Jack sitting in the hallway of our hospital. He
had walked there from home and was selling tickets to raise funds for
the hospital.
A while ago, he told me that he had found a new
volunteer job at the Grimsby Benevolent Society. Here they sell
donations of furniture, clothing, and all kinds of items at reduced
prices, affordable for people of lesser means. However, it seems that
there are those clients who would like to reduce the prices even further
by switching the price tags to make items appear to cost even less. Jack
is the security guard who hangs around when people are shopping. No
doubt he has an idea of which people like to switch tags. The shoppers
don't know that he can't see well enough to read the tags. But they do
know that he's there, and that's the deterrent needed to keep the price
tags in their proper place! And I'm sure that Jack's friendly, chatty
ways bring joy to the clients as they shop. Jack has found a way to give
service to God even with his physical limitations. He has navigated life
transitions caused by physical changes and found volunteer work suitable
for himself. In his nineties, he is still serving God in his own unique
way.
Throughout life's transitions, as we point our hearts toward
Christ, He will illumine our minds with creative ideas to serve Him
through others. In the sequential seasons of our lives, He enables us to
prayerfully find ways to do His work with the gifts that He has given
us. As we seek God's direction, He shows us what to do and where to be.
Wherever Christians go, with Christ's love guiding their thoughts and
actions, the true Spirit of Christ will be revealed.
Prayer:
Thank you, God, for the gifts that You have given to each of us. Open
our eyes to recognize those gifts and to see the opportunities that You
place before us to use them for Your service, that we might daily bless
others wherever we are. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Joan Adams
Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
Thanks to
Daily Presbitarian