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Tiffany's Gift From God
 "When I first came to the Methodist Children's Home, things weren't going
well in my life," said Tiffany.
She was the youngest in a really big family. She argued with everyone when things
weren't going the way she wanted.
Tiffany fought with authority figures and family members, especially her mother. "I
know the Bible says to respect your parents. Now I realize it was dumb and petty
and against God's wishes."
She became friends with some of the other residents and realized that she was
thankful for many things. "I've never struggled with drugs, alcohol, or
abuse situations...like some of my friends. And I have a mother and family that
truly love me very much—some of my friends didn't."
After Tiffany lived here several months, she decided to produce a newsletter
on her cottage computer. "I just wanted to do something that would make
other residents smile. Everything's so serious sometimes," said Tiffany.
In a few hours, she typed the articles, found the clipart and designed the entire
publication. On her own initiative, she had accomplished her goal.r goal.
"Wow," I said as our Chaplain surprised me with a copy of her publication.
I could hardly wait to meet Tiffany and ask her questions. I felt like God had
opened the door for me to get involved. I had to find out more.
Chaplain Pearl said, "one thing that always impressed me about Tiffany is
that she stayed on task to accomplish her goals. She didn't let relationships
get in her way. I would hear her encouraging the other girls to stay focused."
"Stuff just comes to me when I write. I learned to type while helping my
mom with her papers," is her reply when I comment about her computer skills
and speedy proficiency.
"In fact, Tiffany, you have a gift from God," I said. "You used
your skills to help others. You know, sometimes people let their gifts go to
waste. Now you need to make a conscious choice to do good things with your gifts
everyday."
In the following weeks, Tiffany and I worked together to produce another newsletter.
She encouraged other residents to submit artwork, articles, jokes, poems and
photos. On the last week of school, Tiffany distributed copies campus wide.
She titled her newsletter "Saved By The Year" —like the TV show "Saved
by the Bell." Her reasoning for the title was, "this place saves people
and I like the TV show, too."
Tiffany's gift to everyone definitely caused faces to light up with smiles.
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