Who has not used the term "marches to a different drummer" to describe somebody else? Heck, it has been used to describe me. (Imagine that.)

Go ahead, laugh. Like you blend?

We each march to a different drummer, and every so often need to tap him on the shoulder and ask, Where we going?

In the past, my drummer was slumped curbside, waiting for me to pick up and follow. But I was stuck ruminating past events and investments that felt wasted, while confidence further spiraled.

In recalling what was good about the past and what went right, I discovered that I was right where I belonged.

In the story of the Little Drummer Boy, the drummer also lamented his poverty. He longed for a gift of value, like the Magi's brought to the Infant. Instead, he learned that the very talent he minimized, his drum playing, was the valuable gift that pleased the infant, Jesus.

Perhaps there is no better time to ask the question: What is the gift that I bring, the gift that money cannot buy? Perhaps you have spent your life trying to develop something that the world deems marketable, while tamping down the very part of you, the glorious opus within, that pleased God all along.

My hope for 2013 is to interview people for this blog who, at various ages, found that the resisted twists and turns in the road led to new discoveries.

My prayer for you this Christmas is that you will see your gift and allow it to shine, knowing that you are right where you belong, pleasing God.