My current book of choice is "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" which I checked out from the library. It's a good read. This morning I came across the phrase, "When a student is ready, a teacher appears." That struck me as very true.
When I have been ready for a new lesson in living, the perfect person to teach it to me comes into my life. In God's perfect plan, the people I come to know all hold gifts in their hands if I take the time to recognize them for who they are. For example, when I need to learn how to be frank and honest or to have an optimistic outlook, there have been people there modeling those qualities for me without them even knowing what they're doing. The Aboriginies in Australia believe that what we dislike about others is what we dislike in ourselves and what we admire in others are qualities we want in ourselves. They don't know they have these gifts, they are being themselves as I am being myself. Yet, I am not the same for having known them.
Sometimes, I don't recognize the gift bringers for who they are. They may be difficult to be in relationship with or they may hurt my feelings but they have gifts too and it is these gifts that usually make me tougher and able to withstand the waves ahead.
I wonder what gifts I bring to others? It's not something I have the answer for but the idea that I bring into someone else's life a lesson they need to hear makes me think of others and brings home the lesson of "our lives are not for ourselves alone" in a whole new way. Thank you God for all the beautiful gifts in my life.
365-09 #202Labels: 365-09 Challenge, God