My nieces and nephews will be very relieved to know that all of their Christmas presents have been purchased! They will be wrapped at the weekend. Relief does not come close to how I felt.

We are at that time of year when it’s all about gifts. Who are we going to buy for? What are we going to buy? What are we going to receive? It’s ll about the gifts!

BUT we all have so many gifts. Gifts that we have been given to share. I’m talking about skills and talents. I was reminded at the weekend that these gifts are not for us,but they are for others. I get highly excited about giving gifts, as I like to see people’s responses when they seewhat I have given. There is no point in being given a gift if it’s not going to be  opened, or experienced.

It’s the same with our gifts, our skills, what is the point if we don’t share them with others. But there are challenges

• What are our gifts?  I’m fantastic at telling everyone what I’m doing wrong But not so good at working out what my strengths are. I have to pay attention to what other people say to me, I also have to work out those qualities for myself
• How can I use my gifts? So I’m slowly working out what my gifts are. I have to admit that there were some things I thought were gifts which are not. Now I just need to work out how I can use those gifts to benefit others.
• Where can I use those gifts? Different gifts are appropriate or different places. And it is important that we work out where our gifts are best utilised.

As we get engrossed in wrapping paper, sticky tape and labels, let’s think about what gifts we can give which don’t need wrapping, that aren’t limited to one day a year. How can we let other people know what their gifts are and encourage them to share their gifts? 

At Christmas we celebrate the greatest gift humanity has ever reviewed, how can we respond to that?