Don’t Let Your Gift Go

When I was younger my father would take us to the Farmers Market. On the way to the market, he would talk to us about our gifts. I remember one trip he told me to be the best that I could be. He had a vision of my potential in writing and I could not see such vision, after all, everyone went to school to learn to write.

We would arrive at the market and get loads of fruit. As we traveled back home the car had the sweetest aroma of peaches, mangoes, plums, grapes and strawberries.
My dad would direct us all to help take out the fruit and bring it in the house. We would be excited knowing soon we could enjoy this delicious fruit, but mistakenly we left one peach behind.

The smell of these items carried a scent like no other but after a few days we saw annoying gnats. This peach that was left behind sealed in the car without any circulation began to soften. As the days went by a development of mold formed.

After several days, when you have forgotten about the fruit but notice irritating gnats you ponder, “What is attracting these gnats?” Nevertheless, you have a molded piece of fruit that is developing all sorts of gnats and bacteria issues so your focus is magnified with removing the gnats and you can’t seem to grasp the root of your problem was caused by neglecting to make sure you collected all the fruit.

Fruit reminds me of the gifts our heavenly Father gives us. The Lord grants children with parents to help mold them into the gift that they are. Some parents have forgotten about the fruit that lies within their child and are focused on the annoying tendencies that that child has. From time to time a child can forget their gifts and it takes our Father to remind us.

My mind is captured by the book of Ephesians, it states " Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord,” (6:4).

This text gives four forms of guidance for the father. One, it tells the father to turn away from making their child mad and drive them away. This text says control your anger as the Father because the Lord does not want the child to be banned from home. After all God does not ban us from heaven but welcomes us by the covering of Christ blood.

The second form of guidance pointed out is it advises the father to bring them up, nourish the child to maturity. When a child makes a mistake he/she needs to know they are forgiven and still loved. When the child does something great remind them that you are proud of their accomplishments.

The third point made is in training-this originally means the whole training and education of children. It is saying lay the foundation for your child and help with developing your child’s mind so that the child is equipped to maturely grow into the gift that the Lord has placed upon the child. Help the child to be disciplined which will take correction of the child’s mistakes.

Finally, the last point of guidance given is it says to instruct “give the child the instruction of the Lord.” When giving the child the instruction of the Lord the father will then warn the child and discipline the child from their mistakes.

Maybe you have a gift that has been left behind like a peach rolling in the car. Perhaps you have children and wondered what their gift is. Children are gifts to each parent and the world. They are gifts stored with many gifts to blossom. Sometimes in life we neglect our gifts and they begin to soften being sealed without circulation, our gifts begin to mold with gnats flying around, the once sweet aroma begins to spoil and that gift just gets rotten from being deprived.

A child might not notice the vision but still they are excited to apply their unknown gift. It never clicked as a child that my gift was writing but one way or another my parents knew. Somehow along the way when life hits us, our path can often change gears. We can ride around with our gift like a left over peach in a heated car.

Consider, not letting your gift grow mold. Ask God to help you not neglect your gift to help develop other’s gift to their full potential. Call upon the Father to help you not lose all control with your child because he/she did not bring the proper grades home or even if they brought a child home. Pray to God to give you the discernment to notice how you can help encourage others and not drive them a part but towards their gift. For, “Where there is no vision, the people will perish, Proverbs 29:18.