I’ve spent the past couple of days reflecting on gifts. Not presents or material things, but the gifts God indelibly prints onto our souls when He creates us—the unique facets of ourselves through which God reflects His own multifaceted beauty to the world.
Scripture has a lot to say about these gifts. Several epistles exhort Christians to use the gifts given to them by the Spirit. In Matthew, Jesus tells us to let our light shine before others. In two parables, Jesus clearly warns us not to not bury our gifts. In every case, the reason God gives us gifts is made clear: we must use them to serve others and glorify the One who gave them to us.
As I was considering all of these verses, faces started coming to mind—people I know whose gifts have recently been used to enrich the lives of those around them.
We are blessed with a neighborhood treasure in my friend Marcus. From mandolin to drums, guitar to melodica, Marcus seems to effortlessly move from one instrument to the next as though he were born playing them all. This spring, Marcus released an album of children’s indie music. My family attended the release party to celebrate this exciting achievement, and everyone in the packed venue was delighted by his talent and wit as he rolled out charming works of poetry set to music. Marcus has a tremendous gift, and the Spirit’s fruits of joy and goodness filled the room as he used his gift to serve others and glorify God.
I have noticed something recently.
There is something sacred that can be felt in a room when God is being glorified through the expression of His gifts.
Last week I completed an icon painting class taught by my friend, Debbie. For several weeks, Debbie hosted a group of aspiring iconographers around her dining room table. She inspired us, graciously instructed us for hours on end, and prayed with and for us. It was a bittersweet afternoon when the icons were completed, because the time we spent there was filled with the Spirit’s fruit of love due to the graces shining through the gifted artist and hostess.
A couple of weeks ago, my youngest daughter and I attended a campout for a Catholic girl’s scouting troop. Led by three extremely gifted women, the campout went off without a hitch. Meticulously planned by Katie, who has incredible gifts of leadership and organization, the event was marked by peaceful order. The youngest girls were corralled by Morgan—a woman blessed with magnetic enthusiasm. She naturally attracts the attention of the littles and at the same time reassures the shy ones with her gentleness. Rounding out the trio was Amanda. With a most remarkable gift for teaching children, Amanda gives herself to the community by leading a homeschool co-op and now also this scouting troop. Between these three women, the Spirit’s fruits of peace, gentleness, and patience permeated a lively group of girls.
I was recently on the phone with a dear friend who lives farther away. She had been downcast by a temptation to believe she didn’t have many gifts, but through the guidance of her spiritual director she identified a powerful one. On five separate occasions over a matter of days, her intercessory prayer had made a profound impact in various lives. After Mass one day I checked my phone to notice two texts received within a few minutes of each other. One was this dear friend, “I just finished a rosary for the person you asked me to pray for.” The other text was the recipient of that rosary stating, “I’m feeling better. I just received a consolation in prayer.” The Spirit’s fruits of faithfulness and kindness shine brilliantly through this woman’s dedication to intercessory prayer. I cannot imagine a more profound gift than this one.
I noticed that the varied fruits of the Spirit were beautifully manifested through these faithful Christians to communicate His presence. Joy through music, love through hospitality, faithfulness through prayer. When God’s beauty shines through the holy souls in His Church, it is refracted like light through a crystal. Each soul reveals a different hue of His glory, yet it is the brilliance of all the colors dancing together that truly captivates the eye.
I also realized that I’ve spent many years viewing gifts primarily as talents or abilities that we could choose to cultivate or not with little effect on others. But through contemplating these friends’ gifts, I began to see something more: gifts are not merely personal talents to be enjoyed or neglected—they carry a sacred responsibility. When faithfully stewarded, they become channels through which the Spirit reaches other souls.
Reflecting on these friends, I cannot help but wonder how much beauty would be missing from the world if they had chosen to bury their talents instead of offering them back to God. Every gift faithfully used becomes an act of praise and reflection of God’s radiance to those around us.
We would all do well to consider the gifts God has entrusted to us and seek new ways to offer them for the good of others and the glory of God. When each member of the Body of Christ embraces the role for which he or she was created, the Church shines with a light powerful enough to draw souls to the Giver of every gift.
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This post was first published on Notes from the Garden of the Soul and and is reprinted here with permission.
Image: Unsplash
