God's Gift

“What you are is God’s gift to you; what you make of yourself is your gift to God.” ~ Anonymous

No two are alike, maybe eerily similar, yet still unique.  This makes me think about how we envy and try to imitate someone else’s truth and try to call it our own instead of developing the beautiful gifts God has given each of us.  Rather than excavate our own caverns looking for the buried treasure hidden within us, we choose to instead use our picks and shovels mining someone else’s fortune and when we come away with nothing we are discouraged and disillusioned.

Sometimes development takes an incredibly long time and my own life is an example.  I was blessed with different talents, one of them being the love and ability to play various sports.  So, it seemed natural that I would parlay that love into a career and so I went to college to study physical education.  Halfway through my education I realized I really only enjoyed playing the games, so I tried, half-heartedly, to change to a new career major (nursing) but encountered a huge problem.  It required that I start over.  I was too ashamed to do that and too afraid to admit I had made a mistake to my parents who were financing 4 of us in college at the same time.  That said, I graduated with my teaching degree but without the fervent desire to teach.  Mind you, I did quite well, when I did my student teaching, but I lacked the enthusiasm inwardly.  This proved to be a bigger waste of their money than had I pursued my passion!

The point I am trying to make was that in trying to emulate the fabulous teachers and coaches of my youth, I blocked my own path!  And today at the age of 55, that path still beckons me, but I question its integrity, because as it did 35 years ago, it means that I would have to start over and now the light for that path has started to fade.

There has been one constant throughout the journey for me though.  It is one that I haven’t fully developed or spent a great deal of time pursuing; in fact until the recent undertaking of the CNA course, I wasn’t aware how strong its calling was beckoning me.  I love to put my thoughts on paper and allow others to relate to them.  It is not that I think my thoughts are so special, it is more that I think that my thoughts are shared by others.  In sharing them, I have a sense that others might not feel so alone.  If any of my thoughts have resonated with others, to make them feel somehow understood, then the gift I’ve been given has been blessed by God!

Truth is something that we may not recognize.  I envision truth to be like a mountain stream, pure in nature, sweet tasting and light.  As it starts out at the top of the mountain, closest to God, it is uncontaminated.  As it cascades down and it encounters human life, the deeper it gets into civilization the more tainted and perverted it becomes.  We shape our truths to fit our selfish needs.  We envy and manipulate distorting the pictures. 

Years ago, I read one of Tony Robbins books.  His principles might be correct, but only if each of us uses them in our own truth.  When you see someone who is successful, and you inquire to their plan of success, take that plan and then make it your own.  See, what I did back in college, was look to those teachers and I tried to do their plan and I found myself sorely lacking in my ability to accomplish that.  It is great to have a mentor, but we were not meant to be a clone!

It is never too late to dream or to make your dreams a reality and like the opening statement made by that anonymous person, we gift God back with what we make of ourselves.  Continue excavating your fields, we are not done developing and learning until we are laid to rest!

Looking up!~ Barb