As a child, a teenager and even as a young adult, I felt lost and somewhat useless. I wondered, ’what is the point of being me?’
I was the quiet one in a loud, rambunctious family. I felt personality –less.
I was the student who couldn’t do a cartwheel, or a lay-up,
or play an instrument, in a classroom filled with talented overachievers. I felt
talent-less.
My family was too poor to do much of anything except work
and go to school, so I was the girl who never went shopping, never ate at nice
restaurants and never traveled, while attending a school filled with wealthy
kids from “the subdivision” who did all those things all the time. I felt experience – less.
I married a man with so much enthusiasm and energy for whatever
he set his mind to – guitar playing, teaching, preaching, sports, you name it –
while I struggled to find a purpose other than keeping my toddlers from
climbing up the bookshelves. I felt passion-less.
Please don’t think I walked around feeling sorry for myself –
that’s so not me. Instead I just accepted my state of being less and found joy in the rich lives of
others. I appreciated their strengths, their talents and their gifts all the
more because mine were so lacking, and I made sure I told them often about all
the good I saw in their lives. I loved having people over to my house, especially
for dinner, so I could spend time with them, hear their stories and share in
their experiences from the sidelines.
It wasn’t until I was twenty-five, when I made my decision
to grab on tightly to the hand of Christ, that I learned all God’s children are blessed with gifts - spiritual gifts given to
us by the Holy Spirit to build His church. I learned that I had the gifts of Encouragement
and Hospitality, and the awareness changed the way I thought about myself, it
changed the way I behaved, and it changed the way that I served God.
How I wish I could have taken Miss Houk’s Ambassador class
when I was younger!
Miss Houk spends up to six weeks teaching the 2nd
year students about their S.H.A.P.E. – Spiritual
Gifts, Heart Passions, Abilities, Personality and Experiences.
They will explore and learn how God crafted them as individuals on purpose and
for purpose.
Last week, the students opened their Ambassador class with
prayer, along with Miss Kellie, a volunteer from Cedarville University.
Miss Houk then had them review the definition of ambassador
and what an ambassador does.
 |
| An Ambassador is a follower of Christ who stands between God and the world to communicate the message of the Gospel. |
They learned that an ambassador:
Loves Others
Knows others
Prays for others
Encourages others
And serves others
To introduce the idea of figuring out their spiritual gifts,
Mrs. Harvey read the Max Lucado story, A
Hat for Ivan, to the students.
In the story, when Ivan was about to turn 10 years old, he knew his
father, the town’s hat maker, would present him with a hat made just for him
based on what he “really loves to do.” Everyone in town was so
excited for him that they all made hats for him of what they were passionate about.
But, of course, none of the hats fit well at all.
By the time
Ivan got home he was overwhelmed with everyone’s expectations - until he heard
the voice of his father assuring Ivan that he knew him best and would make the
perfect hat, one that would suit him exactly.
Many of the students
tried on hats to illustrate the story.
Miss Houk
even passed out gifts she had purchased and wrapped for every student in her
class. She chose each gift based on what she saw as the individual’s spiritual
gifts:
Christi
plays sports and enjoys being a part of a team. Miss Houk sees in her the gift
of encouragement. Christi received a bottle of Gatorade!
Joe helps
others and fixes things. Miss Houk thinks he has the gift of serving so she
bought him a roll of duct tape.
Lindsay
loves to journal and read. Miss Houk sees that she has the gift of
encouragement so she bought Lindsay “Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul.”
Christian is
good at organizing resources and people to accomplish tasks, but he also likes to
serve others. Miss Houk feels he has the gifts of both serving and leading so
she bought him a pair of clapping hands.
Josh enjoys
helping others. Miss Houk thought a pair of camo gloves would represent his
gift of serving well.
Bethany is
so good at sharing the Gospel and praying for others! Her spiritual gift is
evangelism. She received a $100,000 candy bar because God’s Word is so
valuable!
Nicole is
our gift giver. She received two candy bars – one to keep and one to give away
so she can use her gift of giving.
Miranda is
caring and enjoys encouraging others on her basketball team. Miss Houk sees in
her the gifts of serving and encouragement so she picked out a basketball wash
cloth for her.
Katy is a
problem solver who likes to build others up. Miss Houk sees she has the gift of
encouragement so she purchased a puzzle of a horse and included the
instructions to work with another person to solve the puzzle together and
encourage them in the process.
Dallas hosts
other guys for dinner. He can use Miss Houk’s gift of a manly cookbook to use
his gift of hospitality!
Donovan
loves to bring laughter wherever he goes. What an encouragement to others! Miss
Houk gave him Laffy Taffy and told him to share the jokes with his classmates.
Daniela
serves one of our residents at lunch. It brings her a lot of joy. Miss Houk
asked her to use her spiritual gift of serving to host someone for dinner and then
use her new dish towel to clean up.
Sean is
always using his mind to solve problems – his own and others. He shows a gift
of service, so Miss Houk gave him a puzzle book to challenge his mind and asked
him to work with others to solve the puzzles.
A leader is
known for “lighting” the way, and Brian is good at providing direction to
others in order to get tasks accomplished.
Miss Houk thought a flashlight would illuminate his spiritual gift of
leadership.
I know from
personal experience what a blessing it is to recognize your spiritual gifts. It’s
knowledge that will give you direction, a sense of your worth through the eyes of your Father, and purpose in
life – all valuable qualities to take along on your journey toward Appropriate Independence™.
Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.
