in works of love abound

A little whiteboard poetry (illustrated), fall term 2014

 

One pleasure of parenthood is the front-row view it affords of watching natural enthusiasms flourish.  This kid is a writer.  Words pour out of her and onto paper (or whiteboards, or computer screens) with a fluency indicative of a true gift.  She thinks she'll be a zoologist, and she may well become one, but she'll be a writing zoologist -- words are a work of love for her, and in her they abound.  

 

Often I think of "works of love" as service projects.  Serving food to the homeless = a work of love.  Exploring my passions = my own thing.  If we're going to take Paul's discussions of spiritual gifts seriously, though, I don't think that's actually true.  We each bring unique gifts to this world.  Some of us are called to be social workers, and some writers.  Some are gifted nurses, and others are talented accountants.  

 

Our enthusiasms are works of love.  When we use our unique gifts to the fullest, we make our greatest contributions.  (In the case pictured above, the kid introduced several college students to the past tense of "shear" with a poem involving the term "shorn.")  Abound in your works of love -- they are gifts intended to further the kingdom of God here on earth.