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Use it or lose it

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. (Arthur Ashe)

There are times when we find ourselves thinking we don't have 'enough' of the 'right stuff' to do what lies ahead. We discount what we have, thinking only about what we lack. Ashe put it very well - use what you have, right where you are today, in the best way you can, and you might just see that God that as an offering he can totally bless! What we 'don't have' doesn't have to dictate what we can do with what it is we have been given!

We all have gifts. They differ according to the grace God has given to each of us. (Romans 12:6)

On the path of 'doing what we can', we might just discover God has given us something we didn't even know we had. It is while we are going about the things God asks us to do when we discover what we thought was 'missing' really didn't matter all that much because God had something else in mind. He had prepared us for that moment of discovery a long time before, but we needed the circumstances to be correct in order for us to realize he had given us all we needed.

The gifts God gives are not mystical - they are oftentimes quite practical. If God has gifted you with the desire to serve others, there are tons of way to be of service. My aunt makes lap robes for those going through cancer treatment. My sister gives her time to socialize pets at the local shelter and feed the homeless at food bank in her area. My brother picks up food with his truck and trailer for the food bank. Seems simple, doesn't it? God doesn't need the 'flashy' gifts to touch the world - he needs the simple and practical!

Grace is the basis of it all. We take the grace we have been given, put it into use the best we can imagine, and then we let God do the rest. That's all he needs from us - our willingness to be used by him. We focus on the difficulties and deficiencies, allowing those things to keep us from being obedient. God focuses on those things just a bit differently - for he sees the possibilities and the way needs will be met when we take that first step to use what we have been given. Just sayin!
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