For me, one of the greatest pleasures of Christmas is shopping for gifts. I guess I inherited this joy from my dad. He was a major giver. His humble upbringing - and "humble" doesn't quite cover it: they were poor in those days - made it important to him to be able to give gifts in a generous outpouring of his love. Year-round he would hand out dollar bills to miscellaneous children and watch their eyes light up. He really wanted to savor the smiles and oohs and aahhs of the recipients of his careful shopping. Mom was often embarrassed by his lavish selections for her. They both had very little growing up in the Depression in Butte, Montana. I guess in today's "profiling" giving gifts was my dad's love language. It's mine too.
This is one reason it's so important to use what God's given you. I know some of you are tired of the football posts, but football is big in our city and gargantuan in our house. It's one of life's simple pleasures where we can escape the world for a few moments during the week. By now some of you football fans recognize the name Russell Wilson who is the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks. Recently in an interview he said something poignant to all of us who write, and of course to all of those who find themselves loving an activity, job, or creative release and doing it well. He said something like he didn't need to be afraid of being good with what God has gifted him, but he needed to keep studying and preparing and learning to do it the very best he could, to continue to excel.
In his few words, he proclaimed he'd been gifted by the Creator to do certain things well, that God had given him the ability to perform at a high level, and that in order to continue to use that gift he had to persist in learning to do it well.
After a point, people learn specific things about their giftings. Those things cement themselves in the mind and become routine as other less conspicuous details present themselves along the way. We discover those as we devote ourselves to improving what God has set forth for us to do. Stagnation won't cut it if we want to do what God has put upon our hearts to do.
So whether you love or abhor buying people gifts for Christmas, you can't ignore your gifts from the Creator of the universe. Designed just for you, selected with precision and a purposeful intent, God gave you just the right gifts. Don't frown when you open them or wonder if you can return them for something "better". It's not possible. These giftings speak of who you were meant to be. Use them and dedicate their production to the One who gave it all. To you and for you and for His pleasure.
Father, there are never enough words in any language to thank you enough. I try to make the words I say to you real and somehow meaningful. They're always full of thank yous, but they're still never enough. Thank you anyway, precious Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.