Explore what spiritual gifts are, how to discover yours, and how understanding them can guide your plans for the year ahead. Includes free resources and recommended reads.
Discovering the Gifts Within
As the year begins its slow turn toward winter, I often find myself in a reflective space — looking back at what’s been, and quietly wondering what’s next. The busyness of the year starts to fade, and there’s more room for deeper questions. Lately, one that’s been lingering for me is this: What have I been given, and how am I meant to use it?
That wondering led me to explore the idea of spiritual gifts — those inner strengths or sensitivities that seem to flow from something beyond us. They’re not talents in the usual sense, but rather qualities that come alive when we’re aligned with our purpose. I think of them as grace expressed through personality.
Why Explore Spiritual Gifts Now
In many ways, this exploration feels like an important part of preparing for a new year. Understanding our gifts helps shape our direction — it’s a way of aligning next year’s goals with who we’re truly meant to become. Before setting intentions or resolutions, I want to pause and notice: How am I already being equipped for the next season of life?
Books That Guided My Exploration
To learn more, I began reading two books available at my local library:
- The Spiritual Gifts Handbook by Randy Clark & Mary Healy — a balanced look at discovering and cultivating gifts.
- The Spiritual Gifts Blueprint by Andy Reese — a practical guide for understanding how gifts operate in everyday life.
Both have helped me see spiritual gifts less as abstract ideas and more as living expressions that can grow over time.
Free Tools to Discover Your Gifts
If you’d like to explore your own spiritual gifts, there are several free tools available online:
I approached them less like “tests” and more like mirrors — gentle reflections of what might already be true about me. Sometimes these results confirm what we already sense; other times, they awaken something new.
Reflection Prompt
🪞 What gifts, strengths, or qualities seem to come most naturally to you — the ones that feel both effortless and fulfilling? How might they point toward your direction for the coming year?
Closing Thoughts
I don’t yet know exactly where this exploration will lead, but I sense that it’s pointing me toward a more intentional 2026. Sometimes, the first step isn’t having the gift, but noticing the nudge toward it.
Next, I’ll be sharing what I discovered from my own results — and how I hope to grow into them in the coming year.