Gifts

Happy Birthday, Richard Brautigan! This is from the cover of his book Revenge of the Lawn.

Today, January 30th, is Richard Brautigan's 90th birthday. I am celebrating by sending out the gift of a postcard I designed of Brautigan's poem "General Custer versus The Titanic." (If you did not request a postcard, I still have plenty. All you have to do is ask.)

While reading from The Doctrine and Covenants this morning, I came upon this verse (D&C 5:4) where the Lord is speaking to the prophet Joseph Smith:

"And you have a gift to translate the plates; and this is the first gift that I bestowed upon you; and I have commanded that you should pretend to no other gift until my purpose is fulfilled in this; for I will grant unto you no other gift until it is finished."

With gifts on my mind, it made me wonder what gifts I have been given, and is there one specific one I should be focusing on now before I am given another? (I believe that all of us are given gifts, for the benefit of us, our families, and others.)

When young, I knew that I was going to be a teacher. That was my calling, my gift, and I think I was a good teacher. When I realized that I needed to stop teaching in a school setting, it broke my heart. I always said that I would die in a classroom, but then I began to worry that I might die in a classroom - a metaphorical death of ideals, not a physical one.

I've been given a gift of confidence. I may not always be right, but I'm going to go for it anyway. I've been given the gift of enthusiasm, and I use that to share what I love with others: i.e. literature and poetry, Richard Brautigan, postcards I've created .... And now, I am being given the gift of creativity. I get to create collages, and zines, and write blogs. I'm not saying that the results are all wonderful, but the joy I feel in creating and sharing is.

What gifts have you been given? Do you know? If not, ask your family and friends. It seems others are much better at recognizing our gifts than we are. We too often doubt ourselves and our abilities, but I believe that Heavenly Father wants us to recognize and develop our gifts. Sometimes He needs us to do one specific thing, others, many things, but I also believe that He is just waiting to give us more knowledge about who we are, what we can become, and what tools we need to accomplish this if we will just ask and then trust in His answer, and gifts.

It may not be your birthday, but may you take time to look for the gifts that only you have. Thank you to all of my friends and family and acquaintances that have shared so much of you with me.