When I am alone at home I often sing along with songs on the radio. When I was younger, I sang with the school chorus and also in the church choir. I guess you could say that I am a singer… but it’s not a gift that I share with the world. Oh, I’ve been known to sing babies to sleep and after a glass of wine, I sing along with my friend Mark as he plays guitar (he calls this Karenokie). Somewhere along the line I decided to hide that part of me… or maybe I just protect it from scrutiny.
Another thing I like to do is play with paint. I’ve painted cards for friends and painted rooms in my home, but it’s not what others would call art. It’s just fun for me, and again, it’s not a gift that I openly share.
And of course you all know that I love to bake. Long ago I learned this skill and found something in it that spoke to me and also discovered that it was a way for me to connect with others. When I was a kid, and a new neighbor moved in, I would tell my Mom that we needed to bring them a cake for I’d learned that from TV shows like Donna Reed’s.
Fortunately, my Mom didn’t try to stop me and baking became a way for me to get to know many neighbors and friends over the years. Baking is something I do almost every day whether I need to or not. I love everything about baking and have found that for me it is a way to share that love with those around me.
In the last week I made three pies. The first one was a quiche and was gifted to a friend who is facing a transition. I hope that this asparagus, roasted peppers, and cheddar cheese pie makes evident our love and support to her and her family.
Then on Valentine’s Day, our exchange student, Lucka, moved to her next host family. Since we’ve been so blessed to have had a great time with her, I wanted to send her off to her new family with a gift and a Chocolate Cream Pie just seemed perfect for the occasion.
It’s been great having Lucka live with us for these past two months and I hope that her new family has as much fun getting to know her as we have. One of our favorite things about this time together has been listening to Lucka laugh at silly videos such as this one. Her boisterous laugh is priceless!
Finally, yesterday I made a quiche for a woman that I’ve never met. Another friend found out about my pie story and asked if I would gift her friend a pie. Seems the woman is battling cancer but right now has an appetite and needs to gain weight. Well, a bacon, pepper, and jack cheese quiche should help with that, and I hope that the love that went into it’s making will strengthen her as well.
We all have gifts and many times, for one reason or another, we choose not to share them. My hope is that at least one person reading this will share his/her gift with someone they care about. It would be a shame to die with your gifts still inside.
“Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.” Leo Buscaglia
Pie a Day Give Away 
Just reading your writings makes me happy and makes my days brighter. I particularly felt rejoiced after reading this one.
Hi there, Karen….I am sorting emails and find that somehow I missed this posting from some weeks back…thank you so much for this story…your personal take on gifts and encouraging all of us to use ours to share with someone else….simple, a known and useful suggestion, yes..….but, oh! We need to be reminded…I need to be reminded! Thank you!!!…….. love, Susan (the woman who lives in the Schoolhouse in Ashland)