Someone I know got a gift recently. Well, they've had it a long time. I should probably say that they recently discovered it. Kind of like they were given the gift a long time ago, but just started to use it. She just opened it up, so-to-speak.

Photo: Clint Fisher

Her gift comes from God and it is in the form of really awesome photography skills. She is just amazing with that camera!! I wanted for quite some time to talk to her about it, because I became an overnight fan of her work.

Encouragement

Knowing that her career and educational background are so different from the image of a fashion photographer or a photojournalist, I wondered if her passion for photography would try to blend all of her other interests, ignore them or just keep the camera clicking as a hobby. I felt inspired to ask her about where she was at with this new found love in her life and encourage her to keep the fire burning!

Then I realized that I needed a nudge to keep the fire about my gifts and talents burning, too. And so do you.

With gifts, they are there to make you happy plus serve a purpose. A sweater should be worn, jewelry displayed, a song should be sung...

Some gifts kind of come with requirements, too...As they are there for the recipients pleasure and benefit, they come with instructions on how to be used with the expectation that there is more to this gift than meets the eye. They have a responsibility to change the life of the user so that they can change the life of someone else...

Dry Clean Only

That same sweater might come with wash instructions on the label, or the toy car with a manual.

This way, the sweater can be preserved throughout the time of ownership and the car can be rightfully operated for whomever takes the chance to play with it. Your talents are gifts that not only delight you, but others. Never underestimate where God can take you with it or to who God will take you with it.

The Bible talks about our gifts making room for us- this means that they will take us somewhere. A blessed place He has chosen for us. A place to help others or to be rejuvenated, or simply to bring us back into His presence. A place to enjoy Him all over again.

Gifts also empower us. They give us something to face the world with. How hyped and energized does a child feel on Christmas morning when you give him that superhero cape he wanted all year? No sibling, friend or foe can mess with him now!! He is invincible!!

How powerful I bet my friend felt when her family gave her this incredible camera she was craving for her birthday. Ha! Look out! No one can touch me!, she probably thought. In your face, amateurs!

And how protected did you know you were when you understood the gift of your salvation? Look out, Devil!! Nothing could separate you from God's love, no one could snatch you away. No power could offer you that unspeakable joy and peace. You were a force to be reckoned with. You were also given a great responsibility.

To hide such a gift would be cruel, selfish, so the Lord left you with care instructions. He gave you the Great Commission and

Go Beyond The Hobby

And it is criminal not to develop your gifts and talents, these precious things from God. With your talents, I urge you to see them as more than a hobby, but a part of your lifestyle. Too often we separate the arts and anything creative, but put them off as a "treat,' something to the side. A dessert can be a treat, but isn't it still a part of the whole meal, just like an appetizer or the entree or the beverage?? It is special, but why not look at it as being just as important?

Even in schools, it is treated like the hobby and not a main subject. The creative arts are just as-not more or less-important than history, math, or the sciences. They are all ways of learning and experiencing the world. They, in fact, are all connected to each other the same way are bodies, our limbs and organs, are connected and need each other, too.

Nurture your gift, strengthen your gift. Thank God for it everyday the same way you are thankful for a meal or thankful to have traveled safely to work. Tell God you will honor Him with this gift! This pleases Him the same way your old aunt might feel when you wear that old Christmas sweater that only she likes you in.

And don't think about what other people have to say about your gift in the sense of them telling you how to handle it. Let God write the manual, He has given you the Bible. He has given you the Holy Spirit.

Share your talents and learn to serve others with them, too. Enjoy the gifts God has given you. Aren't gifts supposed to be fun? Open up and go out and play.