Hems of his garment
Monday, June 21, 2010
*Marta Vargas
It was time to break into the small groups, as we were all asked the question: "What gifts has God given you?"
Some said nothing. Some skipped over “their gifts” to talk instead about things or people in their lives they regarded as gifts, detouring from the focus of the question. Very few actually seemed to know what their personal gifts or charisms are, or at least very few felt comfortable enough to share them.
But enough about them, let's talk about you: What are your gifts?
It occurs to me that we each have a multitude of general abilities, skills and talents which make us capable of doing many things well, and that's great. However, there are only a few things that we can do especially well, perhaps unlike anyone else. Those are our unique gifts, our charisms.
There is a difference, and understanding that difference could ultimately determine how close we come or how faithful we are to fulfilling our greatest potential. In other words, our charisms, those special gifts that are uniquely ours, happen to be a key to our calling , our vocation.
In our busy world, there is much to do. The more skills we have, the more things we can do, and if we don't watch it, the “doing” can take over. Of course, many if not all of these things might be good, even great, but is the doing of these things enhancing (or at the very least in balance with) our use of our special gifts?
If not, consider this: just because what we do is good, doesn't necessarily mean it is what God is asking of us. How do we know? There are many ways, among them taking time to be with our Lord in silence, in the sacraments, and in prayer.
Another is by asking ourselves: What are my unique gifts? Am I using them? And if not, how can I, with God’s grace, clean or de-clutter God's canvas so He can have the space and full reign to create His masterpiece in and through me, in order to bless the world? Are we using our gifts, or are we too caught up in the 'doing of things'? Am I here to benefit, or am I here to bless? Am I here to do, or am I here to heal?
Answer those two questions and you might have at least a hint to the path to your gift(s), and with it the path to your call, your vocation. Your special gift or charism doesn't only hold a key to your calling, your vocation, it also holds the key to healing the world. Yes! The world!
Can you trust God's design? Could it be that each special gift or charism that is given to us by God, properly nurtured and shared, could be a 'hem' of His garment of sorts —a point of encounter between God and man, as through these gifts we offer tangible evidence of His work and presence in us and the world? Could it be that those coming in touch with the gift will encounter the love of the risen Christ active and alive in us, and in it find that this love and this Lord, when encountered, are inevitably healing? Could many hems together make a wider garment that might enable more hands to reach out and touch it?
Regardless of how small or simple a gift might seem to you, don't underestimate its potential to make a huge difference in your family, in our Church, in the world. Simply ask God to show you to it, to provide you with the way to grow in it and share it, and to give you the grace to be faithful enough to do it.
What is your special gift (or gifts)? May you grow a step closer to recognizing, discerning, embracing, and sharing it at its fullest today.
"There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit." 1 Cor 12:4-7
Comments from readers
Your article is very thought-provoking. I think many people who have no trouble showing God gratitude for blessings, and think of those as gifts from Heaven, it is harder to recognize the gifts or charisms he has endowed in us. Responding to those requires more than gratitude; it requires action!
I am continually trying to understand my God-given gifts, and learning how to use them effectively. It's frustrating for me now, because I feel that I have the gifts of nurturing, mothering, patience, understanding, listening, writing and teaching, yet several of the ways I have tried to use these gifts have failed. I wanted children, yet could not conceive. Then I wanted to adopt, and that didn't work out. I am a teacher, but have been displaced from my job. So, I am learning alternative ways to use my gifts. I continue to help in church ministries, especially in faith formation. I will soon receive training to work as a volunteer counselor at a crisis pregnancy center. I am reading all I can about faith and ethics, and make a point of spreading the word to everyone who will listen or read. I realize that caring for my husband, friends and family members, and women struggling with life and death decisions, are ways that I can serve as a spiritual mother. If I can do those things well, that's a good start to making better use of my gifts.
It's as if the act of sharing the gifts entrusted to us is actually what creates that greatness. It never occurred to me that it may not be so much about the gift itself or its perceived magnitude (our human perception being limited and flawed to begin with) but how the decision to share it (and the faith, trust, hope and love involved in doing so) is what can potentially bless in bigger ways beyond what we see in the gift itself. WOW! and any gift shared regardless of how 'small ' it seems can in the end be greater for humanity and for God's glory than the greatest gift, gone unshared.
I love the fact that the spirit has moved you to write in regards to our calling and ultimately our purpose. People need to know that what sets them apart is where God can manifest his glory and light. I cannot shine the way you shine and vice versa.
I can especially relate to:
"...how can I, with God�s grace, clean or de-clutter God's canvas so He can have the space and full reign to create His masterpiece in and through me, in order to bless the world? " and where you said, "Can you trust God's design?"
Sometimes, without realizing it we fill our lives with so much stuff and "doing" (even if it's a lot of good "stuff") and ignore his whisper asking us to be consumed with something much greater and that which comes naturally to us...our gift.
For over a year, I have been in the process of trying to bring a chapter of an organization to my campus. It is something that I have felt God pulling me to do for a very very long time. In order to move forward I needed a faculty member to advise my chapter. I received No after no after no after no. After some time, I sort of gave up and decided that I would graduate a semester early. Too make a long story short, because of certain circumstances I needed to stay an extra semester. The extra semester here will allow me to bring this Chapter in the fall because I finally found an advisor this semester. It was the only thing that was delaying the process. I decided to trust his "design". God does give us the grace to do his work, but it does not always come easy...most things that are worthwhile take time, struggle and a constant getting back up and falling down, but in the end, if we remain faithful, we too shall resurrect like our Savior; and like Moses be able to reflect the Lord's grand brightness to the world with our unveiled faces.
Peace to you today.
-->RICHARD, LINDA, my two first and wonderfully affirming comments, thank you!
-->ALBA - Gracias! Tus palabras me recuerdan las de un gran amigo que decia "the best place to be is smack dab in the middle of God's will" o 'El mejor sitio para estar es en el mismito medio de la voluntad de Dios, que se hace compartiendo los dones que nos da y siguiendo su llamado a nivel de que cuando ese es el caso, se vive en alegria!
--> PAULA - Your comments touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes, how beautiful that not only this helped you reflect on your own gifts but also made you think about your students and their gifts. How wonderfully you are modeling our call to not just share our gifts but to help each other share theirs, which we will be talking about more soon. :) It is my sincerest hope and prayer that you and your students will continue to reflect on and grow in your special gifts as it is for everyone who reads this. :) Could you forward me more information via [email protected] as to how many students you have and when is Confirmation day? Thanks and blessings!
-->ANA - You are always such an encouragement and know enough about you to feel confident in saying that your addition to the wider hem is anything but tiny. You are a champion! God bless you! :)
--> NEIDA, Thank you for your wonderful insights on things that are so important to keep always in mind and never forget that the plan in fact is that you may be hearing more on that from me in the future. Very insightful indeed! Truly we could do a whole reflection just on that alone, and in fact, this topic is 'part 3' of this reflection, to perhaps share sometime... . :) Your words brought to mind Kate Adamson, an amazing speaker with a powerful testimony from her amazing recovery from a stroke, so thought I'd share this a reflection she called 'One Hand Clapping. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtd4X3DtCCA
To hear that God has been using these words to touch and bless is sheer delight, as we pray that God continues to use this, and all of us, to be bearers of hope and instruments of healing in the sharing of our gifts.
Blessings Everyone!
Marta
Often, I insist on asking for the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit and, I suppose it is OK to do so. But I remember another statement from the retreat, "Life is not about what you get, it is about what you do with what you get."
Thanks for a good start to my day,
Paula