“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” Romans 12:4-6.

Some time ago the Times News sponsored a trip to the Wild West. A busload of us enjoyed Mount Rushmore and Jackson Hole. We would ride in covered wagons, paddle down the Snake River and see other tourist spots.

One of our stops was to a place in South Dakota called Wall Drug Store. Originally a drug store, it ballooned into a tourist spot with shopping, food and attractions.

While there I saw that the local jeweler also sold hats. (God made bald men to keep the hat makers in business.) So I went in to get a Mount Rushmore hat.

Talking with the fellow behind the counter, I mentioned that I was from Pennsylvania and that my wife was from Jim Thorpe. “Jim Thorpe?” he asked. “We Have Jim Thorpe hats!”

Jim Thorpe hats in South Dakota???

I bought a couple, since they were a good price, and when I got back to the bus my wife showed me why they were in South Dakota.

Instead of Jim Thorpe, they had been spelled Jim Thrope. They had confused the “or” for an “ro.” Now we knew why they had made their way to South Dakota. Well in fairness, they were from China, and I would have had problems with the Chinese alphabet.

But it got me thinking, the uniqueness of the hat took it places.

“Ditto” I thought.

Each of is a unique child of God. Each of us has gifts and abilities. Each of us is meant to go places.

It reminded me of story I read in elementary school. A merry-go-round horse was despairing of his life. I guess it could be pretty dull. You went around in circles. All you had to stare at was the northern end of the southbound animal in front you.

But then he had an “aha” experience. Who was the first horse on a merry-go-round anyway?

He had a God given uniqueness, like all the others on that merry-go-round. While this old world of ours spins, wherever we go, we can take our uniqueness with us.

Each of us is a special creation of God, with gifts. There are no “Cookie Cutter Christians.”

Some years ago my family went to New York City. Outside the NBC building, the “Today Show” was in progress.

It was Flag Day and also the birthday of the Army. A squad of soldiers, led by a Sgt. Hazel (also my last name) made a presentation and served us cake. Afterward, I went up and introduced myself to the soldier I shared a last name with.

Sgt. Hazel turned out to be, unlike me, one of the most beautiful black women I ever met. She joked, “Well, we all go back to Adam and Eve.”

Talk about a smile that could light up a room! Likewise, we who are given the same name “Christian” in our baptisms are unique in our abilities in the area of our serving.

As long as this world spins, God calls us to use our gifts and abilities.

There was a piece of wisdom I received many years ago when I worked at a metal factory. “You know Haze, there are five things I can do better than you. There are five things you can do better than I. They don’t make us better; they just make us different.”

Sometime take a pad and pencil and write down things you are good at. Be honest.

Best checker player on your block? Could there be a shut-in you know that would love a game of checkers? Good baker? Bake that new neighbor a cake and take your church bulletin along with you and invite that neighbor to worship. (Even if you can’t bake don’t worry, that’s why God created Entenmann’s.)

Use your gifts wisely. I always liked the quote from Martin Luther, the reformer. “God doesn’t need your good works, but your neighbor does.”

Use your unique gift to God’s Glory this week.

The Rev. John Hazel Jr. is a retired pastor from Palmerton.