Rachel Roberts

Here is a wonderful article I found from Rhonda Shappert at www.thepageantexpert.com. It is all about gifts and how each one of us has different gifts to offer. I love this article! Enjoy!!

I love a brand new year. For the past three days, new hopes, dreams and goals have been flooding my mind. I have also become aware of a reoccurring theme I’ve heard from Veggie Tales, Epiphany and Desperate Housewives; and I feel compelled to share it with you. The message is about your gifts and what you choose to do with them.

Yes, we’ve just come off the Christmas season, and many of us received lovely gifts that came in shiny paper. However, the message that keeps presenting itself to me is not about material gifts. Let me explain.

Earlier in the week, we picked up a number of videos from Blockbuster. On Saturday morning, we popped in the animated Veggie Tales Lord of the Beans DVD. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was delightfully entertained by the wholesome parody of Lord of the Rings and struck by its simple and truthful message.

In the movie, Jr. Asparagus (aka Toto instead of Frodo) receives the gift of a bean. He doesn’t know what it is, why he has it, and what he’s supposed to do with it. Through his very entertaining journey he discovers the answers to these three questions. The story’s message is that we are all given gifts that belong only to us. We can’t return them but we can choose what we do with them. We can ignore them, use them in a selfish way, or share them to make a difference.

Afterwards, I sat there thinking, this is just like some pageant contestants when they’re choosing a platform. Some contestants look outside of themselves to find a cause that sounds impressive. Some haven’t yet become aware of what makes them special. Still others choose to ignore their strengths because they feel that the judges will never see the value in what they offer. And let’s not leave out those who know what they’re good at, but just don’t know how to package it in a marketable way.

Veggie Tales Lesson: Identify YOUR gifts and make a choice of what to do with them.

So a couple hours later, I was singing at a Life Teen mass, and guess what the homily was about?

Yes, you guessed it-gifts. However, this message had a little different twist to it. Since the Church was celebrating the Epiphany, the presentation of the Magi’s gifts to our Lord, the priest shared that every person is a gift. He proceeded to read a wonderful passage about how different “gifts” arrive.

Some are perfectly wrapped. Some are loosely tossed together. Some arrive via special delivery. Some are fragile. Some are so tightly wrapped, they’re hard to open. Some have been mishandled by the delivery system. But no matter how they’re packaged, every gift is a treasure to the person receiving it. Every time we interact with others, we are sharing the contents of our gifts.

Again, I felt myself saying, that’s just like pageant contestants. Every single contestant is different. The one’s that sparkle brightest and stand out are the ladies that recognize their own uniqueness. Think of how boring a Christmas tree would look if every gift were wrapped in the same size box and wrapping paper, or, if every ornament on the tree were identical.

Epiphany Lesson: Gifts come in all shapes, sizes, styles, and types. Each serves a specific purpose and is beautiful.

Ok, so it’s Sunday night, and I took a break from writing about the inspiring events of the day before to watch one of my favorite shows, Desperate Housewives. There was a scene where Gabby’s youngest daughter, Celia, survives a brush with death. Gabby tells her husband Carlos that Celia was saved by God because their daughter was destined for greatness. Cuddling her daughter, Gabby falls asleep and begins to dream about what great things her daughter will do.

In her dream, Gabby is determined that her daughter is going to be a great actress and she sacrifices everything in pursuit of this idea. Her daughter, however, has no desire to become an actress.

Suddenly, Gabby wakes up from her dream as Carlos is walking back into the room. When he asks Gabby if she’s figured what their four-year-old daughter is going to be great at, Gabby replies that she doesn’t have to figure anything out, because Celia is great at being Celia. Gabby accepts her daughter for who she is and wants her to grow and discover her own path.

Desperate Housewives Lesson: Self acceptance is a key to inner peace and finding your purpose.

What are your gifts? Take out a piece of paper and write down three things that are special about you. If you feel a little stuck, focus on times and events in which you felt completely alive and comfortable while you were doing it. What comes easily for you? Ask those people closest to you what they think your strengths and gifts are.

Next week I’m going to talk more about platform and purpose, but the foundation of a dynamic platform or cause is in knowing your gifts and what you choose to do with them.