God Given Gifts | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: God Given Gifts | Previous Challenge Entry
By Gloria Pierre Dean
01/12/26
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Theresa grew up in a family of eight; six girls and two boys, in a three bedroom house. As she grew older, she began to see differences in all her siblings and herself. She was different. Some of her sisters could sing, sew, cook tasty meals, and the two boys followed dad’s passions for vehicular mechanics. They would one day become mechanics.

Mama needed all the help she could get, so she helped with laundry, house cleaning, ironing, vegetable farming, and meal preparation, and that is where she seemed to excel. One of her sisters, who could sing, seems to excel in the world of acapela. She sang contralto naturally and harmoniously, and there were no musical instruments or sheets to follow. She sang at church events and on most Sundays.

In her mind, she wondered what she was really good at except laundry and, oh yes, cooking. She did not do great in academics, despite daddy hiring a private tutor to give lessons at home. She wished she could sing or do math like her smaller sisters. In church, she did help with the very young children in the back room. In fact, she did like children and liked to play games with them.

“If God gave gifts to all, what is my gift?” she often pondered. On her twentieth birthday, Daddy said to her, “Theresa, you need to get a job, so ask around and see who’s looking for help.” So she asked around and found an advert in a local paper. Manna Preschool was advertising. Mrs Young, the owner, was looking for an assistant. She went to the interview, and based on her experience with her younger siblings and at church, she was given the position part-time.

She really loved her job and found that she was quite talented with the children. Parents were happy with what she was doing, which included them learning Bible verses and playing Biblical Vegetales videos and songs for them. One day, she was called into the office, “You are doing an excellent job, Theresa. The parents and the children love you. We’d like to offer you a full-time position,” she accepted gleefully. All the family members were happy that she had found her place and was able to sew her God-given talent/gift. Daddy spoke up and said, “ In the New Testament, Matthew tells us that God gave talents to some guys, and the ones who used them profitably were rewarded by Him” {Matthew 25:14-30}.

Over time, Theresa became the assistant manager of the Manna preschool. She attended classes online and got a B.A. in Early Childhood Education. She introduced the HeadStart program in the preschool. She always included Christianity in the curriculum and expected teachers to include Christ in their teaching content. By the time she was 50, she owned the preschool, was married to local Pastor Jim Banner, and they had twin girls.

“ ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” {Matthew 25:23}. Theresa never forgot her childhood and the way God gave her and her sisters different giftings and talents.

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