My wife, Jeanne, and I were in the ER at Lakeland Hospital in Niles one night recently on a pastoral call.  A couple was waiting in the check-in area, and she said to me, “You look familiar.”  After we made the connection, she said, “I have one of your dad’s paintings hanging up in my house.”  She had won it in an art auction to raise money for the ministry I used to work for.

Small world.

When my dad retired many years ago, I wondered how he would survive.  What would he do with all his time?  He took up oil painting through the senior citizens center in Owosso, Michigan.  He learned, and he painted … and painted … and painted.  He stirred up a gift that had been dormant due to the demands of work, family and church.

Jeanne has had many demands on her life over the past 34 years.  Good things like family, friends, church and work.  Recently, though, she decided to stir up a gift in her:  water color painting.  She took a class at the Buchanan Art Center and had an incredible teacher.  She has been working hard to develop her technique, get familiar with color mixing, and discover what she loves to paint.

I’ve seen a joy being stirred up in her life as well as the gift of painting.

There are spiritual gifts that we can find listed in the Bible, and there are other gifts wrapped in the grace of God, talents if you will.  Both are important in our spiritual lives.  Both are important to minister to others.

Not long ago, Jeanne sent a homemade card adorned with her first painting, an apple blossom, to an elderly saint who has been lovingly caring for her ill husband for quite some time.  The gift is not only being stirred up, but served up as well.

The art class is over now, but my wife’s artistic journey has just begun.  I can envision a few years from now when we meet someone and hear, “Jeanne, I just bought one of your paintings at an art show.  It’s hanging in our living room.”

Dream big … and stir up the gift.