There are traditionally seven spiritual gifts drawn from Romans 12:6–8, often called the motivational gifts. These are not titles we choose; they are graces revealed through fruit, consistency, and the way love naturally flows through a life surrendered to Christ.

Rather than guessing, I have prayerfully discerned my gifts by observing the patterns in how I write, create, lead, shepherd, listen, and restore. Gifts show themselves quietly, through obedience, endurance, and compassion lived out over time.

Below is a ranked reflection, from most evident to least evident, based on my life, my Healing 💔heARTs💖 work, my encounter groups, my writing, my art, and my way of loving people.

💖 The Heart of the Wheel

At the very centre sits a heart, rendered in soft ivory and gently restored with fine gold kintsugi lines. This heart is not cracked beyond hope. It is mended, honoured, and strengthened through grace. A single white feather rests close by, a quiet sign of the Holy Spirit’s nearness and gentle guidance.

At the heart’s centre, written in delicate script:

Mercy

This is the wellspring from which everything else flows.

🛞 The Wheel Structure

The wheel unfolds into seven petal-like segments, radiating outward from the heart like a flower opening in stillness. Each segment carries one gift, with its visual weight reflecting how strongly it is expressed in my life.

The palette is restrained and intentional:

• Maroon for depth, covenant, and calling

• Ivory for tenderness, surrender, and purity

• Gold for God’s refining and redemptive work

🌸 The Seven Gifts

(Clockwise from the Top)

1. Mercy

This is the anchor of the wheel and the lens through which every other gift is expressed. Mercy in me looks like presence without judgment, patience with process, and compassion that does not rush healing.

This gift asks for stewardship, rest, and clear boundaries, because when mercy is depleted, everything else strains.

💡Guided Reflection

• Where have I felt most drawn toward the pain of others, even when it cost me emotionally? 🤔

• When does compassion begin to tip into overextension for me? 🤔

• What boundaries help me steward mercy without hardening my heart? 🤔

• How is Jesus inviting me to receive the same mercy I so freely give? 🤔

🙌🏻Prayer

Lord Jesus, teach me to steward the mercy You have entrusted to me. Help me to love without rescuing, to remain present without losing myself, and to rest in Your compassion as deeply as I offer it to others. Amen.

2. Exhortation (Encouragement)

This gift gives voice to hope. It calls weary hearts forward, not with pressure, but with invitation. It strengthens through truth wrapped in gentleness, often expressed through words, prayer, story, and beauty.

💡Guided Reflection

• What themes consistently emerge in the encouragement I offer others? 🤔

• When have my words helped someone rediscover courage or clarity? 🤔

• How do I remain anchored in truth while still speaking with tenderness? 🤔

• Where might God be inviting me to encourage myself with the same grace? 🤔

🙌🏻Prayer

Father God, place Your words upon my lips. Guard me from fear or performance, and let my encouragement always flow from truth, love, and obedience to You. Amen.

3. Teaching

Teaching flows in quiet clarity. It translates Scripture into language the wounded heart can receive. It favours reflection over instruction and understanding over performance.

💡Guided Reflection

• What truths has God patiently taught me through lived experience? 🤔

• How does my own healing shape the way I share Scripture? 🤔

• Where might I be tempted to explain rather than listen? 🤔

• How can I create space for others to discover truth, not just receive it? 🤔

🙌🏻Prayer

Lord, make me a faithful steward of Your Word. Teach me to speak with clarity and humility, to listen as much as I teach, and to honour truth with love. Amen.

4. Serving (Helps)

Service shows up faithfully and without noise. It prepares, organises, follows through, and carries responsibility as an act of love rather than obligation.

📖 "Through love serve one another." — Galatians 5:13 (NKJV)

💡Guided Reflection

• Which acts of service feel life-giving rather than draining? 🤔

• Where might I be serving out of expectation rather than calling? 🤔

• How do I discern when to step in and when to step back? 🤔

• What does Jesus model for me about humble, sustainable service? 🤔

🙌🏻Prayer

Jesus, You came not to be served, but to serve. Teach me to serve from love rather than obligation, and to follow Your pace instead of my own striving. Amen.

5. Giving

Giving is expressed not only through resources, but through generosity of time, creativity, presence, and emotional availability. It pours out trustingly, believing God to replenish what love releases.

📖 "He who gives, with liberality." — Romans 12:8 (NKJV)

💡Guided Reflection

• In what ways do I most naturally give of myself? 🤔

• When does generosity become depletion for me? 🤔

• How do I practise receiving without guilt or resistance? 🤔

• What rhythms of rest allow giving to remain joyful? 🤔

🙌🏻Prayer

Gracious God, help me to give freely and wisely. Teach me to trust You as my source, to receive without shame, and to rest in Your provision. Amen.

6. Leadership

Leadership appears as shepherding rather than commanding. It leads by example, integrity, and faithfulness, inviting others to walk rather than demanding they follow.

📖 "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you." — 1 Peter 5:2 (NKJV)

💡Guided Reflection

• Where do others naturally look to me for steadiness or direction? 🤔

• How do I balance humility with responsibility? 🤔

• When have I led most effectively by presence rather than instruction? 🤔

• What does Christ’s model of servant leadership correct or affirm in me? 🤔

🙌🏻Prayer

Good Shepherd, lead me as I lead others. Keep my heart humble, my steps faithful, and my authority rooted in love rather than control. Amen.

7. Administration

Administration serves the calling rather than defining it. It brings order when needed, structure in service of people, and clarity without rigidity.

📖 "Let all things be done decently and in order." — 1 Corinthians 14:40 (NKJV)

💡Guided Reflection

• What systems or structures currently support my calling well? 🤔

• Where does organisation feel burdensome rather than helpful? 🤔

• How can I invite support in areas that drain my energy? 🤔

• What order is God inviting me to establish for the sake of peace? 🤔

🙌🏻Prayer

God of order and peace, help me to establish structures that serve life, not stifle it. Grant me wisdom to organise what matters and grace to release what does not. Amen.

✨ The Outer Ring — Isaiah 61

Encircling the wheel is an unseen but ever-present mantle drawn from Isaiah 61. These gifts were never given for self alone, but for the rebuilding of lives, hearts, and ancient ruins.

📖 "He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted… to give them beauty for ashes." — Isaiah 61:1–3 (NKJV)

💡 Closing Reflection

This wheel is not a hierarchy of worth, but a map of flow. When mercy is honoured and protected, the whole wheel turns smoothly. When mercy is neglected, every other gift labours.

My calling is not to become louder or harder, but to remain faithful to the mercy entrusted to me, stewarding it with wisdom, rest, and grace.

🔍Discerning Your Own Spiritual Gift Rankings

Reflection questions to help you notice the order of grace already at work within you

Spiritual gifts are rarely discovered by striving or comparison. More often, they are recognised by fruit, faithfulness and the quiet pull of love over time.

These questions are not a test to pass, nor a formula to force an answer. They are an invitation to notice patterns, to listen honestly and to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal what He has already been shaping.

Set aside unhurried time. Read slowly. Pray gently. Write honestly.

💡 Foundational Reflection

(Begin here before ranking anything)

• When people are hurting, what is my natural first response?🤔

• What kind of need draws my attention even when I am tired?🤔

• Which activities leave me deeply fulfilled, even if they cost me something?🤔

• What fruit do others consistently notice in my life?🤔

• Where do I sense God’s pleasure rather than pressure?🤔

  
  

🎁 Gift-Specific Reflection Questions

Mercy

• Do I feel a strong pull toward those who are wounded, grieving, or overlooked?🤔

• Am I able to sit with pain without rushing to fix it?🤔

• Do people feel emotionally safe in my presence?🤔

• Does compassion often move me before logic does?🤔

Exhortation (Encouragement)

• Do my words tend to strengthen, steady, or realign others?🤔

• Am I drawn to speak hope and truth into difficult situations?🤔

• Do people tell me that something I said helped them persevere?🤔

• Do I sense responsibility for how words shape hearts?🤔

Teaching

• Do I enjoy bringing clarity to Scripture or spiritual truth?🤔

• Am I patient in explaining things until others understand?🤔

• Do I value depth, accuracy, and understanding?🤔

• Do people seek me out to help them make sense of faith or the Bible?🤔

Serving (Helps)

• Do I naturally notice practical needs that others miss?🤔

• Am I fulfilled by preparing, organising, or supporting behind the scenes?🤔

• Do I feel unsettled when work needs doing and no one steps in?🤔

• Do I serve joyfully without needing recognition?🤔

Giving

• Do I find joy in sharing resources, time, creativity, or energy?🤔

• Am I generous even when it stretches me?🤔

• Do I trust God easily with provision?🤔

• Do I give quietly, without needing acknowledgment?🤔

Leadership

• Do others naturally look to me for direction or steadiness?🤔

• Am I comfortable taking responsibility for people and outcomes?🤔

• Do I influence by example rather than authority?🤔

• Do I feel burdened when vision lacks direction?🤔

Administration

• Do I enjoy bringing order, structure and clarity?🤔

• Am I good at organising details so others can flourish?🤔

• Do I naturally think in systems, processes, or timelines?🤔

• Does disorder or inefficiency distract me from the bigger picture?🤔

🌸 Ordering Your Gifts

After reflecting, consider this gently:

• Which three gifts surfaced most strongly?🤔

• Which one feels like the lens through which the others operate?🤔

• Which gifts energise you and which require more effort?🤔

• Which gifts have been affirmed repeatedly by others?🤔

Your highest gift is often not the one you admire most, but the one you cannot escape.

🙌🏻 A Closing Prayer

Lord, open my eyes to see what You have already placed within me. Free me from comparison and striving. Teach me to steward what You have entrusted to me with humility, wisdom, and love. Show me the order of grace You have written into my life.

In Jesus' Name, Amen.

🙌🏻 Prayer of Commissioning

Lord Jesus Christ,

I place every gift You have entrusted to me back into Your hands. I receive them not as achievements to display, but as stewardships to honour. Let mercy remain the centre, kept soft by Your presence and strengthened by Your truth.

Commission my exhortation to speak life, my teaching to carry wisdom, my service to flow from love, my giving to remain generous and free, my leadership to reflect Your shepherd heart, and my administration to bring peace rather than pressure.

Guard me from striving, comparison, and self-reliance. Anchor me instead in obedience, humility, and abiding trust. May these gifts serve Your Kingdom, heal the broken-hearted, and rebuild what has long lain in ruins.

I receive Your sending with reverence and joy.

In Jesus' Name, Amen.