When I

called today to check on Sybil, Lynda said Sybil's

husband reported yesterday that his wife had said

"Hi" to her therapist.

Such a little word and, and

only one at that, but all those who love her rejoiced. It

will be a long row to hoe, but Sybil is alive and on her

way to being well again. I understand she soon will be

moved from the Tallahassee hospital to Piedmont Hospital

or the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

After responding to the

little voice inside her heart that insisted she check on

Sybil and get medical help for her, Lynda is looking at

her gift/s in a whole new light.

For those of you who have

not been following this column in recent weeks: Sybil

(from Henry County) was on a business trip to Bainbridge.

She did not show up for an 8 a.m. meeting at Lynda's

office. My sister reasoned that it was probably an

allergy thing, that Sybil probably had taken something

for allergy and just overslept.

Reason soon got tossed out

the window, because Lynda's little voice kept telling her

something was seriously wrong. Lynda insisted that the

hotel attendant let her into Sybil's room where she found

her coworker seriously ill and took her to the hospital.

Sybil had developed a leaking aneurysm during the night

and her life was hanging in the balance.

When I spoke with Lynda

this morning, my sister said, "God has already given

us so much. Lent is a time to ask ourselves what we have

done with these gifts..." She was reading from a

morning devotional book. She said the supporting

scripture was Matthew 21:33-43.

I checked it out. It is the

parable of the land owner. It is potent. Read it. And

while you do, remember the words my sister tossed my way

this morning: "God has already given us so much.

Lent is a time to ask ourselves what we have done with

these gifts..."

She is struggling still

with her gift. We both have struggled with it all our

lives. I like to think we have more than one spiritual

gift and I hope we use them wisely. But there is this one

that we have always questioned. Seems we got tossed

something a little stronger than your basic intuition.

When the little voice inside our hearts says

"do" or "don't, "go" or

"stay," "act" or "don't

act," we have learned that we darn well better

listen.

I blew it again, just

recently. I called a friend about ten days ago. She could

not talk as she was heading out the door for a tennis

match. Instantly, I wanted to tell her not to go. Of

course, I did not - it would have sounded like I

wanted her to stay and talk to me instead of going to

play tennis. I bit my tongue. She tore her Achilles

tendon on the court and spent the next day in surgery.

Now, she is confined to her bedroom for a spell.

Did I know what was going

to happen? No, I just knew I should tell her not to go.

This friend does not know me well enough to have listened

to any word of caution I might have tossed her way. My

sons, on the other hand, who have seen my warnings play

out again and again, now listen. It's about time!

The truth is it's hard to

speak up when you have nothing to support what you are

saying. I mean, if you are about to warn someone of what

might or will happen if they do or do not do a thing, and

if they listen to you and follow any suggestions you

offer, then nobody ever knows what might have happened if

they had not followed your suggestions. See what I mean?

It takes courage to speak

up. I do not know what to call this gift. I only know

that I am learning to listen to my little voice even when

all reason, all the facts, and all well-intended advice

does not agree with that voice. Should I be stroked and

told how courageous I am for doing so? Hardly. Only I

know how many times I have ever so cowardly backed away

from using my "gift."

The truth is I act on it

now more than I used to in order to avoid feeling bad

later for not acting after events unfold that could have

been avoided if I had acted. Read Matthew 21:33-43

sometime soon and consider anew what gifts you have and

how you are using them.

If you don't know what your

gifts are, read Romans 12:6 and the 12th chapter of I

Corinthians. And as you read, be ready to be reminded how

much we all need one another. Any time we fail to be all

we can be, and use the gifts wisely that we have been

given, others suffer, and we do too.

Does God love us any less?

No, but in the end we may love ourselves a bit less if we

refuse to be all we can be and use wisely the gifts we

have been given.