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With Thanksgiving over and Advent upon us, my Christmas decorations were awaiting me in our little side attic. My children were relentless in begging me to put the decorations out. I would deflect and tell them soon. The question was again and again, “Can we decorate for Christmas today?” I would reply with, “How much will we be doing exactly rather than me? But on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the first Sunday of Advent, I decided to bite the bullet.
The kids began unpacking the random Santas, Baby Jesus, Christmas baubles and Christmas signs that go around the house. Arguments ensued over what went where. I met the arguments with “Whoever has it in their hands, gets to decide where it goes. It’s their responsibility, not yours.” It made me think about the things we place in the world, what God hands to us that we are “in charge of” so to speak (with some prompting and direction). We decide when we do the things He designed us to do and how we go about doing them in this world.
Sometimes like my kids we get distracted with what everyone else is doing. They are in charge of too much. They are doing it all wrong. I wanted to do that; why did God give me this thing to do? It takes the joy out of what God has handed to us. We forget there is something we are in charge of handling and that it’s special. And that whatever we do with the thing God hands us, only we can do it. He uniquely created us for this special purpose.
Funny enough, as predicted, I was the last man standing as it related to the Christmas decor, from making sure the lights looked right once evening came and they were switched on, to hanging wreaths and placing candles. I am usually annoyed when this happens, but this year I thought to myself after pondering God’s purpose for our lives: I hope I am always the last one standing, Lord, laboring for you, willing to go it alone when everyone else is tired and has abandoned the work. I hope I am willing to pull out every last thing you have given me.
What if I had stopped decorating my house when my kids had stopped? I’m not sure many people would have noticed, but what is interesting is that I would’ve noticed. I would’ve known there were a bunch of decorations that weren’t up, decorations that would’ve made my home look a little brighter and more merry. I would think of what was packed away every time I looked at my house and it would’ve nagged at my mind a bit.
When we don’t share our gifts with the world, the same thing happens. Those gifts will nag at us. We will know they are there inside us, waiting to be used. We will have an ache in our heart for people who need serving or a mission that needs doing. The rest of the world might not know, but we will know.
God will be waiting for us to take action. He will send us nudges through others and throughout our days. He will provide affirmations and confirmations, and the devil too will provide discouragement and distractions. Pay attention to your heart and soul. Pay attention to what is calling for your attention. Pay attention to common requests or compliments from people. They are helping you find the gifts you are called to give to the world to make it a little more merry and bright.
Speaking of sharing your gifts, my new book is headed to the printer and pre-orders are up on the website for author-signed copies. Additionally, I have a little gift going out to my substack list. I’ll be sharing a sneak peek of the book: the introduction, which I think will give you a taste of what to expect if you do decide to buy my book. Please make sure you are subscribed over there: https://substack.com/@nicoleberlucchiwrites.
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