A Most Surprising Set of Gifts

       Ever since I was able to think about what I was going to do in the future, I have also been pondering what my gifts are and how they can be used. I have considered my strengths, taken those cute quizzes in girl magazines with titles like "What Color Is Your Personality?", and tried to memorize acronyms for how to use my talents for God. In short, if ever someone was supposed to know their spiritual gifts, it would be me.
      At least, that's what I thought before I took a spiritual gifts assessment test online and printed out the results. There, in black and white, my top three spiritual gifts were listed as Faith, Poverty, and Celibacy. These are definitely gifts, but I can't say I would immediately put those in the top three. After a lot of pondering, though, I realized that these are gifts I do have, I just never knew they were there.
     Having Faith as a gift means that I will act with confidence on what God has promised to do. In my own life, especially in the last three months, I have seen how God has provided for me countless times. Over the summer I was on my own for the first time, but God took care of me just like He always does. There were days when I didn't know what was going on, and I had to trust that He knew every single circumstance in my day and would help me through. My faith that He was by my side carried me through the experiences and trials I faced.
     I grew up poor in material belongings, but rich in the things that really matter like relationships with family and friends. To this day I don't like spending money on myself because I feel it could be used for other more important things like ministry or schooling. I don't feel that poverty is something to be looked down on, but rather something to be exalted. If God wanted me to give up what I own and work with poor people I would do it. That's why I feel I can say that I do have the gift of Poverty.
    Now, before you start envisioning me in a black habit praying to Mary, please realize that the gift of Celibacy has nothing to do with living in a convent. It means that I am willing to be single, and I do so without regret because I feel I can serve God better that way. If God wants me to be married, He will bring the right man along someday. It is not something I am extremely worried about, though. I often find myself concerned about girls who talk nonstop about boys. If they continue to go through life this way, they are in for a lot of disappointments. I want to tell them, "There is so much more out there. There is a world you can serve even if you don't have a boyfriend." I am content to be serving God without a significant other, and I hope I can encourage other girls to be content as well.
     These gifts were a surprise to me at first, yet more and more I can see that they do fit me in certain ways. I am so thankful that God gives us gifts to further His kingdom.
        

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