Thursday, December 1, 2016

Your Perfect Gift by Susan Tuttle


It’s December 1st. How many of you are already finished with your Christmas shopping? Not me! I have started, but I’ve a long ways to go. But I LOVE buying and giving gifts, so I tend to string out this season as long as I can. Anyone else?

As I started to write this post, that one word immediately pushed to my mind: gift. What is a gift? It’s something the giver choses to give with no strings attached. It’s meant to suit the person who receives it and impact their life in a positive way. It’s meant to bring joy. To be helpful. To bless. Gifts are an amazing thing. And each one of you here has gift you’ve received, but it’s also one you’re meant to give.

God has given you the gift of writing. It comes in all shapes and sizes because WE come in different shapes and sizes, but make no mistake; God has given you this gift to share. I think of 1 Peter 4:10. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve others.

Our writing can be a solitary thing at times, but it’s not meant to be kept in solitude. Oh sure, there’s always going to be those pieces that should live eternally in our desk drawer, but as we grow as writers those pieces should become fewer and farther between. We need to trust the gift God gave us and put our work out there, because it’s meant to serve others. This gift he’s given should impact people for him—and you don’t need to be on the New York Times Bestseller list to do that or have a million blog followers.

Whether you write a short story, an article, a Facebook post, or even a Christmas card…whatever God lays on your heart, in any shape or size, share it. Words are your gift, and gifts are meant to be given. So this season I encourage you to hand out as much of your gift as you can and serve (and bless) others with the love of Christ.

Merry Christmas, friends!

Susan L. Tuttle lives in Michigan where she’s happily married to her best friend and is a homeschooling mom of three. She’s firmly convinced that letters were meant for words, not math, and loves stringing them together into stories that inspire, encourage, and grow women into who God created them to be. Romance, laughter, and cookies are three of her favorite things, though not always in that order. You can connect with Susan at her blog, Steps, Facebook, or Twitter.