Do you remember being asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
I don’t. It seems in my lifetime doors have opened for women, well, everyone, to have new jobs that we didn’t have 50 years ago.
While our youngest granddaughter, Addie, now 7 years old, was here on her last visit, we were playing blocks together.
She loves to make elaborate structures, and since she broke her elbow and arm she has created complicated hospitals with places for the ambulances to arrive, X-ray rooms, CAT scan rooms, surgery rooms, and places for patients to recover.
She even has a hotel next to the hospital where parents can stay overnight that she builds up high with plenty of rooms.
So I brought up the idea that she might want to be a doctor when she grows up. She responded, “Oh no, too many sick people.”
“What about being a teacher?” I asked since she also builds big schools for children in her block works.
“Oh no, too many children,” she said.
“What about working in a store?” I prompted.
“Oh no, too many customers,” she said with a look of concentration.
“What about what daddy does for his company?” I asked again.
“Oh no, too many projects!”
“Well what do you think you want to do?”
“I’m going to be a singer!” she said with a big grin and excitement. “I know it will be hard, but I’m gonna do it!”
As we grew up as children, we did think about what we would do, having seen the adults around us in their careers. We did see possibilities, or perhaps limitations, in what we could pour our lives and energy into.
God planned jobs for people in his creation. Adam and Eve were to take care of the Garden of Eden, name the animals and create more people. God created everything, and said it was “good.” He approved of His own work. He approves of work that can honor God, be done to help others, and to provide for their families.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
We have purpose in God’s plan! How exciting!
When God calls us to our task whether great or small, let’s be like the little boy Samuel in the temple who said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
And all Christians are called to spread the gospel because so, so many people are lost in our world!
Are you listening?
