A few weeks ago, I was talking to you about the subject of giftedness on my stories (it’s still under highlights if you’re interested). And I can’t stop thinking about it, actually.

This topic is important. Our understanding of giftedness – namely, God’s purpose and perfect design in giving us gifts – influences the way we think about ourselves, our career, and life in general, really.

What is Giftedness?

A gift is something that we’re given (obviously) freely, and each of us is given “gifts” from God. These gifts vary from person to person and can often be identified by what our talents and strengths are. The point of having these gifts is to turn right around and serve and honor the GIVER, who is God.

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul talks a lot about giftedness in chapter 12.  He explains that our gifts need to be different because all together, we make up the body of Christ. For a body to work, you need one head, two ears, one nose, two arms… you get the picture. If a body has no arms, six noses, and one ear, something’s not right. The same thing goes for the body of believers in Christ—there have to be different parts in order to make it function correctly.

This brings me to what I’ve been thinking about when it comes to the way we see our own gifts. It is SO easy to get really obsessed with wanting everyone else’s gifts but our own.

We Love To Marvel At Everyone Else’s Gifts

Whatever we aren’t, we want to be. We want to be more outgoing instead of introverted. We want to be taken seriously instead of being known as “sweet”. We want to be more soft-spoken instead of bold. We want to lead when we are really better at encouraging. We want to be creative instead of analytical. We spin our wheels to be like the cool girl, the brave girl, the smart girl, the funny girl, the interesting girl.

So, what ends up happening is that we start trying TO BE all these things we simply ARE NOT. We try to pose as the body parts that we aren’t. We become ears that pretend to be feet. And when we do this, it makes it really hard to excel in our OWN areas of giftedness.

We live in a culture that wants us to be all things, to all people, all the time. We feel pressure to be EVERYTHING. And we’re just not—we can’t be. We aren’t meant to be.

But We Must Remember: We All Have Specific, Unique Gifts

What are YOUR gifts? Not the gifts you wish you had. Not the gifts you admire in others. Not the gifts you want THINK will make you happy. But what are your, special and uniquely designed gifts?

The ones that God gave you. The ones you don’t have to strive so hard for. Because they were given specifically to YOU, my friend.

If you’re reading this thinking, “I don’t think I really have any gifts!”, STOP. You do. You might have lost sight of what they are because you’ve been neglecting them, but they are there.

What About You?

Have you taken time to really figure out and think about what your God-given gifts are? What are things you LOVE doing or the unique idiosyncrasies that make you, YOU? These little details were not by accident. What do you daydream about? When do you feel most alive? I read somewhere that we are happiest when we are solving problems. It’s like our brain’s version of food – or something like that. What kinds of problems do you love solving? And get most excited about? I love love love thinking and journaling about these things.

Maybe you could get together with a girlfriend this weekend, read 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 together, and then journal and discuss your God-given gifts? Just a thought!

Did you enjoy this post? Let me know by commenting below. I thrive on comments and it’s the feedback I use to know what I should be adding to my calendar in the coming month. So I very much appreciate those of you who do chime in.

Shop The Look:

the Outfit Guide

Lately, I have been drawn to longer-hemmed dresses. There’s just something about them that’s so feminine and elegant. I love how this one fits! I usually don’t like a low v-neckline like this, but this dress was the exception to my usual. I’ll be honest though, I didn’t wear a bra with it. If you did want to wear one, I’d suggest this one.

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Lately, I have been drawn to longer-hemmed dresses. There’s just something about them that’s...

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