While I consider it important to be willing to make a change if you aren’t happy, I think it equally important to recognize your gifts because there is value in knowing what you’re good at and sticking to it. But before we can thrive using our gifts, there are a few things we must do to get ourselves there.
Accept what you don’t know.
Sometimes before we can best use our gifts, we must humble ourselves in knowing what areas we need help.
I’ll use myself as an example here. I don’t know math, but my brother sure does. His degree is in math and finance, and he was in classes in college that I couldn’t even remember the names of. If I have a business-related question, I’m going to him. Similarly, my sister-in-law runs a kindergarten classroom like I’ve never seen. She manages numerous tasks at the same time seamlessly and counsels her students brilliantly. I’ve picked up some strategies she uses – no joke – but even though I’m a teacher, I could never do what she does.
This is even the case with my English degrees. I don’t know everything there is to know about the English language, Shakespeare, or Ernest Hemingway. I know enough to get around, but I didn’t specialize in every era and every writer and every literary theory. I’m sure there are still times I think I know more than I do, but my hope is that I’ll become more and more accepting of what I don’t know to make room for what I do.
Ask for help.
Asking for help allows us to flourish in areas we have room for growth. I wholeheartedly believe we should revere people who have a track record of smart, solid life choices. We should seek these people’s guidance. If someone has a degree in something, we should respect that enough to ask for his or her help. And if we recognize someone has a particular gift, we should allow them to use it and open ourselves to receive their knowledge. We need help more often than we think we do.
My parents are exceptionally knowledgeable about life, Scripture, and wise-choices. I trust them because of who they are and because I’ve witnessed them make smart life decisions. I seek their help when I study Scripture because when I ask them questions, they have answers. Thus it would make sense I would be willing to not only hear their advice, but to ask it.
Then, embrace your gifts.
Remember the saying, a jack of all trades and master at none? It’s worth finding your gift and pursuing it. God gave us all different gifts so that we can use them to help further his Kingdom. To use them, we must recognize them!
Staying in your lane doesn’t mean being apathetic or mediocre. Race horses don’t slow down halfway through the race. Definitely not! Staying in your lane also doesn’t mean limiting yourself. We can have other interests, but we may not know everything about those interests. Remember? I love Hemingway novels, but I don’t claim to be a Hemingway expert.
Letting go of what we don’t know allows us to embrace what we do.