Carol J

Maybe we tend to define gifts too narrowly. I am much older now, and as I look back over my life, I see that many of my "gifts" came in the form of experiences. When I went to college, I studied subjects that perhaps drew me to them because of the economic opportunities they offered. I visited places that resulted in my knowledge of those places being perceived as "gifts". When each one of us, as Jesus people, considers our life experiences, we should pray for the Lord to present us with opportunities to serve him, using the "gift" of our life experience in that service. I am not a musician or an artist and do not have these types of talents; however, I have 7 decades of rich life experiences - losing loved ones enables me to show compassion to others in similar situations, learning subjects that can be used in the service of the church, making sad mistakes in life and growing from the lessons allows me insights others might not have. I hear so often from my brothers and sisters in Christ that "I have no gift". If you have lived a long life and are still loving the Lord, you have gifts! May each one of us offer what we have, be it small gifts or magnificent gifts, to the Lord. The key is to give what we have.