I believe in the truth of the God-given gift. When you receive one, through your genes or your upbringing or the opportunities you’ve received, I believe that you are expected to use that gift, not waste it or let it lie unused until it just dies away. It can be as simple as baking good pies or as important as a new invention or the cure for a dread disease.
Some people get directed down a path early on that does not allow them to develop or use their talents. It’s almost like that’s what retirement is for. When you retire from the tasks you were required to do all your life, you can start using your talents for the rest of your time on earth.
And today, we are blessed with the good health that allows most of us extra time to spend using our God-given gifts.
When Kirsty Ally did cartwheels on the TV show, Dancing with the Stars, she was called the poster girl for folks in their 60s and what they can accomplish. The rest of us may not go tumbling across the dance floor, but if we are still of sound mind and body, retirement is indeed a time to use your God-given gifts to make the world a better place.
If you have not gotten around to that yet, you may want to give it a whirl.
[Show #424]
Yes, yes, yes (to using God-given gifts, not attempting cartwheels). Age may bring some limitations, but as we are able, or required, to take certain things “off our plate,” it can often make room for something even more important and meaningful. I’m convinced that the secret to healthy aging is just never to stop, and to keep on looking for ways to shine a lot on the world’s darkness.