Gift

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Today’s word in the 31 days challenge is Gift. Just what is a gift? According to merriam-webster as a noun gift means

1: a notable capacity, talent, or endowment

2: something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation

3: the act, right, or power of giving

But gift as a verb, or more precisely as a transitive verb means

1: to endow with some power, quality, or attribute. For instance: She’s been gifted with a beautiful voice.

2a: to make a gift of. For instance: It makes an excellent choice whether you’re gifting one bottle for the honeymoon or a case to be savored for years, or even decades, to come.— Robert Taylor

b: to present. For instance: gifted her with flowers.

Keeping those definitions in mind, where would this four letter word take us?

Go: Gift

A fine gift of oratory my husband has.
And he loves it as well.
This gifting he has of
Presenting God’s word to others.
Temporarily laid aside in his working career
Now his fine abilities to pay attention to the details
Is being exercised.
Can he safely make feed?

His original love remains.
But positions are few and far to be seen.
So on a temporary basis he finds himself
Stepping into a role
Much loved.

I miss this.
Listening to him preach.
Being glad when opportunities arise.

A small church in Westfeld
Calls him in summer months.
Once, sometimes twice a month.
Gifts used. One in preaching.
Another in a church member
Making a meal to feed 10.

Then comes Goderich, Guelph.
London and Clinton too.
Occasionally farther away
Stevensville, Kingsville
“Can you come? A pastor is needed”.
And so, my hard-working husband
Goes again.

Preaching, sharing, using a talent
A skill in him that I adore.
A gift that fills his heart.

I wonder if, those calling churches,
Realize the gift they give to him?
Not only the pay cheque
but more importantly, the filling a need
That floods his soul.
To articulate, to speak out,
the truths of who God is.