Reacting To A Gift

FRI., AUG. 2, 1991, 6:45 AM
FARM, STUDY

“A great variety” is a rather accurate way of describing spiritual gifts that humans “have.” You heard “enjoy”, and some, like yourself, mostly enjoy their gifts. Yet some are ambivalent and a few have gifts they would gladly trade in.

Many of these spiritual gifts come directly from Me, the Holy Spirit… and all are ultimately from Me, for from Me emanates all that is spiritual. Spirit guides and angels can share some of their capacities with humans, and this is the next most common origin of such gifts.

A Christian friend and fellow churchman, Nelson, announced last evening that a gift of poetry has been given to him, and he read what he has written thus far. You certainly have no problem accepting that spiritual gifts are given, but isn’t it interesting that there was a reticence to your acceptance of this particular gift. Nelson is only slightly less likely than you are as one on whom I bestow a writing gift. The important criterion is not whether the poetry is “good” but whether Nelson is faithful to his call to write what I give him to write.

He shall be imperfect in his hearing, as you are, and this shall affect the “quality” of the poetry, objectively. Yet as he writes he shall improve, and these short pieces will be of spiritual value to him and to some others. You do not have a “natural” attraction to poetry…even as I have been pleased with the few psalms you have written at Synod School. You have a small gift of rhyming words, but no great “feel” for poetry. Thus, you are not as naturally enthusiastic about the gift as you are about your own.

I have told you that I waited in giving you your gift until you had improved your writing skills. You were writing professionally and improving with the practice. Thus, your gift was not very miraculous, for I just began to have you use a developing capacity for My purposes.

Nelson’s gift has more of a miraculous quality to it, for he is not a practicing poet, nor does he have poetic skills that he has been honing. I call on you to appreciate the more difficult nature of this gift. Listen to and read what he writes, in appreciation of a gift somewhat parallel to your own.

Mabel’s is another gift from Me that involves writing. It is different from yours also, and it includes much more responsibility than yours. Such a gift would be stressful, to you, as it was to her when I first conferred it upon her. She must hear Me, speaking in a different voice than I use with you, and then must communicate this message to the person for whom it is intended. She, too, is an imperfect vessel as a receiver. Then must come interpretations of what My words mean for the life involved. Yes, hers is more of a responsibility than yours or Nelson’s. Yet know that I have called on you to write and send out four Ruminations each year, a rather public way of announcing and affirming your gift.

These are rather obvious spiritual gifts. Another one is healing, and you have not yet taken advantage of Mary’s healing hands. I urge you to do this, for what you are experiencing now is more of a spiritual test than just a physical affliction. Therefore its resolution is more likely to come by spiritual means than be medical ones.