Re-Storied and Re-Shaped

 

So far this week, we have looked at Paul’s list of gifts.  You were encouraged to expand and explore that list.  I hope you have thought and are still thinking about your own giftedness and your reluctance or resistance to sharing your gifts with others.   Notice the plural on the word “gifts”.  I think each person has several ways they can show up and let their light shine.  You are not confined or contained in one way.  Just as I don’t think you only have one purpose in life, but seasons when you will shift and begin going a new way.  Some gifts persist throughout life, and then there are gifts that you have for a time and place.  Pause, is there a gift you used when working that is no longer needed or necessary?  Or is there a gift you are cultivating right now that ten years ago you never thought you would want or need?  As you ponder your giftedness and uniqueness and God’s call to blend your light with others, here are a few questions:

 

When did you feel most alive?  What are you doing and who are you with?

When do you find yourself losing track of time?

Ask a friend to reflect with you about when and how they experience you most alive.

What are your three favorite movies or stories (is there a common theme)?

What do you dream about?

What would a good day include (notice I said ‘good’, not perfect)?

What frustrates you about the world?

 

It takes a lifetime to sort through our lives because with every moment, you are being re-shaped and re-storied by those around you.  Taking a step back to ask, who am I, God?  Or who are You, God, calling me to be?  Listen for the Holy calling out to you like Jesus on the beach to the disciples who were fishing.  Can we, together, as a church, listen for the Easter-ing ways God is calling us to collaborate and cooperate and conspire with God in sharing the Good News in these days?  Let the questions infuse and inspire our living and being God’s people/community today.