Open Your Gift

Judy and Val were best friends. The ten-year-old girls lived on the same block in their neighborhood. They shared many special activities and created their own traditions. One of these traditions was on Christmas Day. After their separate family gatherings concluded, Judy and Val would go to each other’s homes and spend time looking at the presents the other girl had received for Christmas.

To enjoy the other friend’s gifts made almost a second Christmas for them. After all, Val knew she would probably also be playing with and enjoying Judy’s gifts when they got together; Judy felt the same way about Val’s gifts.

Christmas is filled with gift giving and the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Some of the best gifts we have received are not those under the tree. God has given His gifts freely to all mankind. Psychologists and sociologists have developed detailed testing to help us discover what some of these gifts are.

Be assured, God has given you unique and inspiring gifts. But have you opened them? These gifts can include skills that you are particularly good at doing. Your gifts can include an intuitive character or personality trait that gives you an ability to deal with other people or situations in a positive way.

A gift may be a passion that resonates deep inside of you that gives you the energy and resolve to make a difference in your world. If you have not identified your gifts, seek out a leader in your church or human resources department who can help you clarify them.

God has also established many unique gifts in women that reflect the part of His image that males usually do not reflect. While some women may exhibit these gifts more than others, God’s nature would not be complete without women displaying these gifts. Here are some gifts that are unique or amplified in women.:

1. Women Beautify the Earth

We exhibit beauty on the outside with our feminine form (Proverbs 31) and we show a wonderful beauty on the inside with the wisdom God has given us. (1 Peter 3:3-4) I believe both of these types of beauty make all women lovely in some way.

2. Women Know How to Help

Mankind needs our help! Adam was in need when God made Eve. When we complement who men are, or when we complete our spouse, we continue the plan of God for mankind. Women are also more likely to serve people because God has given them a servant heart. It pleases women to help others. We show the heart of God, as in the Bible when he is described like a midwife (Isaiah 66:9)

3. Women Naturally Nurture

We are prone to give care easily. This nurture often begins with those children we bear. But God gives us caring hearts that want to help others when they are needy. Women enjoy giving instruction and encouragement to those who fall short of where they should be. Our nurturing spirits exemplify God who is described as a mother eagle (Deuteronomy 32:11)

4. Women Possess Great Faith

Women tend to exercise faith to a great degree. This is why many of churches have a greater proportion of women in their ministry than men. When we hear testimonies from non-believers who receive salvation in their later years, they usually mention a praying grandmother or mother who never gave up on them. This is the same faith Jesus showed when He longed for the faith of the Jews. (Luke 13:34)

What gifts has God given to you that show His character? Have you unwrapped them (identified them)? Do you use these regularly and share them to bless others? If you have not felt secure in using some of your gifts, what is holding you back?

Remember, when God gives gifts they have a divine purpose. This means they are wrapped with divine inspiration and divine energy by His grace. Therefore they are divinely impactful for eternity. This fact alone should produce a passion within us to use our gifts.

Take time to identify at least five of your gifts God has given to you. Then ask God to show what their purpose is in your life. Display these gifts wherever you go. When you do, you reflect who God is.

Unwrap your presents, woman of God, and let everyone enjoy them!