Uniquely Endowed – I Came to Accept the Gift (From my “Straight from the heart series”)

My biggest dream since childhood was to grow up and become serious.

I heard so many comments growing up about not being serious, you would almost think it was a birth defect. The problem, some of the things that came out of my mouth made people laugh even when that wasn’t my intent.

About 10 years ago, I got my first gig through work to speak at a very important meeting. I prepared my presentation and had it vetted about twice by the big people. Then came the day for the gig. (Unfortunately, I was having a bad hair month so I donned one of my colorful kente scarves, which is something I do often when I am missing my homeland Ghana or having a bad hair day, the latter tends to be the case most times.)

I was about the fourth speaker that day following some very important and serious presentations. From the time I hit the podium until I left, no one stopped laughing, even though my topic was serious in nature also. In the ladies’ room afterward, a couple of ladies asked me if I was a stand-up comedian.

Then the light started to go off slowly in my head. I have done many subsequent presentations since then, and without even intending to, my audiences laugh their heads off. Like I needed more confirmation, my oldest daughter said to me about 5 years ago that she could sit down with popcorn and watch me talk all day. Then I started to put two and two together. All the times I had made friends laugh, all the times I had laughed at myself and made others happy, I was manifesting the gift. That not being serious was ok, and that God, in His infinite wisdom had uniquely endowed me with the gift of causing laughter so I may be able to lighten my own load in difficult times and the load of others that the Lord may bring my path. I like this verse in Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Maybe my purpose in life is to spread good medicine and that is very fine by me.

I got the opportunity to be the emcee at events and after one gig recently, a lady came to me and said that I made her cry and laugh at the same time. I chuckled and said to myself, it’s my unique gift from God.

You may not be a Picasso, a Michelangelo, or a Mozart, but remember that God had uniquely endowed you too. Find that calling and use it “to go and light your world”