By MAGGIE ISHINO
“Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith.” — Romans 12:6
Every one of us has some kind of talent/gift that should be shared with others. This, then, is an article on talents/gifts.
We have people in different occupations in all walks of life. I firmly believe that God does NOT choose our occupation, but we have that choice. For example: I have encountered ministers who should not have chosen this occupation and no, I will not name them. IF God had chosen this occupation, they would not have “failed” as ministers.
When one has the writing ability to be the author of a best-seller, has a beautiful voice, is artistic and has the talent to compose music or whatever, it is a gift from God. What would this world be like if Hemingway, the three B’s and Rembrandt, to name examples, did not share their talents/gifts?
It makes me unhappy when one has a beautiful voice and is asked to sing in the church service and hear the person say,”I’d rather not.” Some say this because they did not wish to be thought “boastful,” but I think it is a very selfish attitude. Music is something that brings joy and happiness to most people and a beautiful voice is one of the greatest gifts among the musical world. It can be applied in a moment and doesn’t have to be carried in a case, tuned, etc.
People say to me,”Maggie, you write well.” I am thankful that God has given me this talent. When I began working for The Rafu Shimpo 15 years ago (1999), my first assignment was to retype the “Horse’s Mouth” column for publication, which I am still doing.
I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a column of my own?” Then on June 12, 2012, through the grace of God and the goodness of Editor Gwen Muranaka, I was given a column of my own, “Maggie’s Meow.” My initial article of June 12, 2012 was on adult education. As I mentioned in the article, I am a product of adult education.
Having this column of my own has somewhat changed my life and has given me the profound joy of sharing my gratitude and thankfulness with others. Often it takes years, but IF it is God’s will, it will come to be, as in my case.
Editor Gwen has given me the prerogative to choose whatever subject I wish to write about and she, in turn, uses her discretion when my articles are published.
It is such a wonderful feeling when I share a table with people whom I have never met at a luncheon function of an organization I belong to and be recognized because of their reading The Rafu Shimpo. They say they read my article on such and such and how much they enjoyed it, agree with what was written, and tell me to keep writing. My friends at church kindly compliment me on my articles and say they look forward to them.
It is always a joy to receive emails, telephone calls and letters from readers of my column. I reply to each for taking time to write or call me with deep gratitude.
Remember always those who care, share.
AMEN AND MEOW!
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Maggie Ishino is a Rafu typist and can be reached at mishino@rafu.com. Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.