This question is challenging because, first, we need to take inventory of our gifts and we often have more than we realize. After taking inventory, we can then ask, “What have I done, and what am I doing with this gift?”—while being real and honest with ourselves.

When I took a look at how I’ve used the gifts God has given me, there were moments I could smile about, and others that made me flat out apologize to God. And hey, we’re not Jesus!—we’re going to miss the mark sometimes. That’s a natural part of the perfecting process and of simply being human. But deep down, we all know when we’re really being intentional, and when we’re not. No excuses, full accountability. Don’t beat yourself up though, just take note.

Life is so funny. Not exactly “haha” funny (though sometimes it is), but more like… very peculiar, funny. And I say it’s funny because we’ve never been here before—so how do you navigate what you don’t know?! We’re all just doing our best in this temporary residence. The fact that our journeys—spiritual and otherwise—are never linear is, to me, both types of funny at the same time.

With there being only two directions you can take your life and all the gifts of it, we can have dips and spikes in either direction. Do you know what I mean? Think of a stock thats ultimately climbing, but might’ve had a few dips within the quarter or year being observed. Or the opposite, a stock that is ultimately declining, but has a few upward spikes within quarter or year being observed.

Oh, if only we could have a zoomed out, line chart view of our lives, hm?

This is why I ask the second half of the question: how are you using what has been given? Because the gifts God gives are for our good and lead to good when we steward them well.

For example, this blog uses an ability God has given me to connect and communicate through writing. With active stewardship it’s drawn me into a deeper and richer relationship with God, and to people around me. I can’t tell you how many times a topic I’ve written on has come up in conversation and how those conversations have led to deeper connections and opportunities I never would have thought to create on my own.

Another example is the home and heart for hospitality God has given me. In stewarding those well, I’ve had the privilege of creating space for people I care about and being a bridge in ways I didn’t expect. It’s been a blessing to be a blessing in this way, and it’s grown my capacity for generosity in ways I didn’t expect.

I’ll give you an example of the opposite end of the spectrum too. God has gifted me with a job and steady income. Nothin’ crazy, a modest and decent living; but I was not stewarding that gift well. It’s not that I wasn’t stewarding at all—I wasn’t in debt, I had a savings account and I could indulge in nights out without over drafting—but I had not been stewarding well. I had an “I’m-doing-good-enough” attitude, but if I continued being a passive steward of this gift I wouldn’t have been able to support the projects and the works I had in mind later down the road—which would have caused delays in other places. Passivity has a subtle chain effect to it.