Christmas is coming, y’all. I recently walked through the
aisles of Target, seeing about 10 different Christmas trees to choose from,
accompanied by dozens of boxes of wrapping paper. I know, I know, it’s not even
Halloween yet… but bear with me. I ended up in five more aisles that night with
bags for birthday presents, more wrapping paper, and some of the world’s
coolest Nerf guns I have seen. Then, I began to notice all the signs in the
store that said the word “gift” on it, and I counted over 14 by the time I made
it to the checkout counter. I don’t know if it was simply just an accident to
see all of those signs and gift-giving supplies that night, but as my cashier
handed me my receipt, it clicked. Gifts.
How
powerful is it to know that each one of us, regardless of the point of life we
are at, have such a unique, beautiful, and influential gift that we have been
given? And no, while the gift of a giant Nerf gun would be absolutely awesome,
I’m talking more about the gifts we’ve been given from the One who knows us
best. The gifts of empathy, charisma, listening, observation, connection,
entrepreneurial spirit, adaptability, coaching, patience, the list could go on!
Knowing our purpose through our gifts is one of the most freeing things as
humans we will ever come to know, but for many of us, we get tangled up by one
word: Perfection.
Think about
wrapping a gift for a second. Generally, presents either come in a bag with
cute tissue or wrapped in paper with the perfect creases, bow, etc. Hallmark
has absolutely set the standard for gift-giving, and I fall short of that
immensely. I have practiced my gift-wrapping a number of times, but every time,
I think to myself, “Man, my dog could wrap this gift better than me.” No
different than my incapability of nicely wrapping gifts, I think we easily lose
the purpose when it comes to giving gifts, or giving away our own gifts. The
point of a gift is to help somebody or make them happy, correct? Isn’t that the
point of our gifts too?
“But what if I say something
wrong?” This is the worry that took over my thoughts this fall throughout
prepping for National FFA Convention. Between interviews, speeches,
conversation and more, I was paranoid that what I had to say wasn’t going to be
good enough, pretty enough, powerful enough. Reality? Some of the best
practices I experienced were the practices where I owned imperfection in the
form of mispronounced words, awkward sentences, hand movements and all. I knew
God had given me a positive attitude and the ability to connect with all types
of people, but my ability to share that with others became extremely
inaccessible when I believed that perfection was in my own hands. We get caught
up in the perfect bow and the deceiving outer wrapping paper, but when we focus
solely on that, we miss the point. When we focus solely on how we appear to
people, we miss the point. We miss the opportunity for impact, connection, and
community.
Do not waste your gifts. If there
is one thing that I hope each one of you as students, members, parents, adults,
grandparents and community members can see, I hope that you see yourselves as a
vessel for change. A vessel for loving your community and the peers around you.
You are one of seven billion contenders in our world to fight the good fight, and
the only way the battle is won is by using your own gifts to the best of your
ability. Your gifts are invaluable. You are invaluable. The price of perfection
has already been paid for you, and it’s your turn to own imperfection. Forget
the pretty bow on top, peel back those layers of wrapping paper, and let the
world see your gifts. The world NEEDS your gifts!
Erica Baier
National Officer Candidate
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