Everyone has gifts, things they do well.  Everybone has been given talents and strengths. Everyone has passions and loves.  Finding those gifts can take a lifetime.  Wise are the people who discover and use their gifts.

Gifts and talents come in many forms and sizes.  They can be small gestures or large grand personalities.  They can be one word spoken in a whisper or a long rehearsed speech.  Maybe it is something you love to do or you just have to do and you don’t know why.

Whatever your gifts, discovering them is great fun, and then putting them to use.  That is the adventure of life.  Trying everything to see what fits – what works.

I have tried many things.  Some things fit.  Some things didn’t.  One thing I’m good at is holding hands.  I’m very good at that.

I can hold Gramps’ hand while we walk around the block.  I can hold a friend’s hand while we walk in the dark, so no one falls.  I can hold a patient’s hand while he is dying.  I can hold a grandchild’s hand while we laugh at a joke.  I can hold a fellow’s hand while we share a prayer.

All this has come from years of using my gift every chance I was given.  Every moment of need or joy or laughter or sadness, I grab for a hand to hold.  It is my nature.  It is in me to do this.  I can’t help it.  I have to hold hands with other people.

And I believe it has a lot of meaning to the other person as well.  Being touched is a gift unto itself.  Many people go a long time without being touched with love.  A simple holding of hands can be a literal life-saver.

What a privilege it is to be given a gift, be mindful of it, and be allowed to use it everyday.

Be grateful.