“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others …” –1 Peter 4:10
Looking around Loma Linda University Health, I see a host of individuals who are amazingly gifted. Part of the beauty of this place is that each member of our team has such varied talents.
One employee may warmly welcome visitors to the campus, sharing the providential history of our beginnings. Another is in a back room crunching numbers, happily out of the public eye. Professors teach a seemingly endless variety of classes, instilling a love for learning in their students. Physicians and a myriad of clinical staff stand on holy ground as patients begin life and others end life each day. Our campus is the workplace for hundreds of professions, with each member of the team using the gifts they have been given to perform their job.
You may remember taking tests in high school that helped to predict what line of work would be best suited for you. Often, a list of questions would produce several appropriate professions for you to consider. These tests took into account your preferences, strengths and areas for growth. Many of us likely followed the suggested pathways to find our life’s work. The questionnaires helped us identify job categories where we might best utilize our strengths.
What a gift that there are so many personalities and temperaments! Most of us could think of several jobs on campus that we are grateful someone else is doing. And others are likely thankful that they don’t have to do our job. God has gifted each of us with a unique set of traits and skills. But those talents that He gives us are not simply for our own pleasure.
When Jesus sent His twelve disciples out to minister to the hurting, He gave them this admonition: “Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:8) God gives us gifts with explicit instructions that we are to use those gifts to bless others. None of us has everything that our students or our patients need. But when we work together, our gifts blend with others on the team so that we create a seamless experience for those who come to us for care or for education.
Kathy McMillan, MA
Director of employee spiritual care
Loma Linda University Medical Center