The Lord of the Gifts: A Brief Meditation on Tolkien and PEZ

My family held a white elephant gift exchange this past Christmas–you know, where people bring gifts anonymously, exchange them, and get a chance to steal them from others. We fought over battery operated massagers, remote control cars, coffee mugs, and Hot Wheels.

I was fortunate enough to get a set of PEZ dispensers in the shape of The Lord of the Rings characters, but the process made me think about other gifts we’ve received: our talents, life experiences, and environment.

I wonder how many times we look at other people’s gifts and talents, wishing we could steal them, instead of trying to discover and develop our own. I spent many years vainly trying to be a Tolkienesque writer before I understood that the unique talents, circumstances, and events that made Tolkien who he was could never be repeated–nor should they be. Tolkien’s greatness grew out of his ability to take the raw material of his life–linguistics, war experience, love of nature, Catholicism–and, through a labor of love, craft something unique and meaningful.

What are the raw materials of our lives that cry out for expression and meaning? Who are we trying to imitate, and how is that preventing us from becoming the person God created us to be?