My Greatest Gift Is Questions...

I don't have that many gifts that make me stand out.  I wish I had athletic ability but unless you count being good at sports video games I'm nothing to brag about.  I can carry a tune, but not for long.  I love to sing but my voice is nothing to brag about.  I do however have a few gifts and I'm thankful for what God has given me. 

One of those gifts is my desire to ask questions.  The reason I think this is a gift is because I don't know that many other people who are constantly asking questions.  In fact most people ask very few questions. 

I think that asking the right people the right questions is one of the greatest ways to learn.  When I am trying to get to know someone I ask a lot of questions. In fact sometimes it can come off as a interrogation. I think asking questions shows you are interested.  It shows you care and it shows that you want to grow.  I ask people that I look up to how they got to where they are at.  Think about it...sometimes the right words by the right person can change our life.  What if the reason we get stuck in a rut is because we aren't asking the right people the right questions.  Questions like...

• What makes a good spouse and am I one?
• What do my kids need from me to one day become healthy adults?
• What am I doing that I need to stop doing in order to become who I want to be?
• In order to get to where I want to be what do I need to start doing?
• What does a relationship with God really look like? I think God is Big enough to handle our questions. The problem is most of us don't ask any questions to Him.
• Who can give me advice to do what I do better? For example...before I started blogging I asked Ben Arment (mega blogger) for advice.  He told me that blogs were hard to keep up and that I should start a private blog for a while and see if I like it.  Before robshep.com became public I wrote on a daily basis.  I liked it so I made it public. 
• Did I use my time wisely?
• Why do I keep making the same mistakes?
• What is something I do well that I should be teaching other people? One of the best ways to learn and grow is to teach others.  All of us have something to offer someone else, but do you know what it is?
• Who can I encourage? If I'm down one thing I try to do is encourage or bless others.  It helps someone else while at the same time it blesses me. 

Asking the right people the right questions can save you a lot of time and effort.  How many times have you had to redo a project because you didn't ask the right people the right questions? How many times have you been surprised by how bad a job somebody else did because you didn't ask the right person the right questions.  Maybe if we asked the right people the right questions we could save ourselves a lot of time, money, and heartbreak.