In the beginning each a gift was given.
Some were strong
and some were weak.
Some were large and others small.
Some were easy,
but most were difficult.
And some were hidden,
and some in plain view did lie.
Into each set of hands
was placed a gift
and a message whispered
in an immature ear:
“This gift is for you to give.”
And so to earth they all came
carrying their gifts—
some large, some small, some hidden,
and some in plain view.
And sprinkled about upon the earth
they did grow from infants
into children
and then adults.
And all that time the gifts they carried
lay quietly forgotten.
Time did pass
Some grew
and some did not.
Some matured and blossomed
into beautiful beings.
And here and there
a discovery—one,
and then another
found the gifts they had brought.
One found the gift he had brought
and tucked it away inside himself
to enjoy at his leisure
and hide from the world.
And another
smiled gleefully
as he discovered his gift.
And he took it apart
in little pieces
and used it greedily against the world
for his own selfish ends.
These gifts turned black
and ugly
and shame ridden.
And many, many gifts
simply stayed hidden
undiscovered,
unloved,
unappreciated,
and unshared with the world.
Until one by one
their owners began to depart.
But a few—a very few—
of God’s children
discovered their gifts
and prized them for what they were.
They brought them out to use
and share with the world.
And those few gifts
enriched the world
far beyond their small measure.
And far beyond the time
when their youthful owners
departed for their next growth world.