"Why wasn't I surprised?" She almost always had something negative to say, and she never seemed to care who she offended! She was one of those people who, just when you thought you heard it all, said something to make you realize you hadn't. I will never forget (no matter how much I may want to) the Thanksgiving Day she called me to complain about the typos in the newsletter. No "Happy Thanksgiving, Phil" or "Am I'm interrupting your Thanksgiving?" No, that wasn't her way. Instead, when I said, "Hello," her first words were, "Does anybody proof-read the newsletter before it is published?" Still, even though I wasn't surprised, neither was I entirely prepared for her to return her "Spiritual Gifts Inventory" with no gifts identified. After all, she was an elder (one who is supposed to be spiritually mature). And, if not "mature" than certainly aware--aware that God doesn't leave any of us alone or "ungifted." You are gifted and so am I. And when we realize that truth, there is precious little time to name the "negative" because we are too busy deploying our spiritual gifts for the common good. In fact, when we are in tune with our spiritual gifts, we rarely see the negative; rather, all we want to see is where our gifts can be best used. And, because I believe God has put all of us together with a specific purpose in mind, each of us are called upon to use what we have for the glory of God. I don't know if the story is true, but I have heard that during the days of rationing of World War 2, a congressman was sitting at the counter of a coffee shop. After adding his alloted amount of sugar, he hollered for the waitress to bring him more. Without missing a beat, she replied by saying, "Stir what you've got." And that is what all of us are called to do for the sake of God and this world God loves. We are called to stir what we have. Be blessed, Phil |