What do I want to be when I grow up?

Have you ever asked yourself “Am I doing what God has called me to do? What is it that God really wants me to do with my life?  Am I where God wants me to be? What do I really want to be when I grow up?”  So many of today’s “successful” people say, you have to have GOALS, or you can’t get to where you want to be.  You have to develop a plan for your life.  Well, I have almost driven myself crazy trying to develop my plan for my life . . . trying to set a goal for what I want in life … what I want to be when I grow up…and oh my goodness, I look around and think I am almost grown up (by the way I have my own teenage children who are almost adults) and yet I still don’t have my plan down…I am not even sure what I want to do with my life.  I change sometimes from day to day.  I think of a new great idea for success every other day.  But what is the right one for me…which one fits for my life?   What am I good at, and what do I truly enjoy? What blesses others, and, most importantly — which idea or plan is blessing God?  Oh — but I can’t stop at that… the even bigger question (at least in my mind) comes up… which one of these great ideas or plans is going to pay my bills?  Can I do what I want, like, and even enjoy, and still continue my responsibilities at home (to my family)?

Yes!  IF your goal is GOD! What God has shown me through my search for this answer is that, it is the process of getting to the goal that is the goal. It is the daily lives we lead. It is getting up each day with a smile on your face and in your heart that pleases God and is the first step in our daily journey toward our ultimate goal.  Through time spent worshiping, reading God’s word, enjoying and discovering a rich relationship with God our Father and Creator, we will discover our life’s ultimate purpose.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? So do not worry, saying,’What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  Matthew 6:25,31,33-34

Well….that sounds easy enough… yeah, right!  Easier said than done!  If you have one ‘driven’ bone in your body, then it’s not so easy to just sit back and enjoy the ride and wait for God to develop this plan called life.  You want to steer, you want to decide where the destination will be, when it will begin, and when you will arrive.  That’s where the frustration begins… because you cannot do those things and obtain true happiness.  You must let God be in control of the destination, as well as the roads that He has chosen to get you there.  Am I saying you should not have goals? No, but we must understand that God is in control and that daily he is leading us to His ultimate purpose, —  and if for some reason our life takes a turn in a direction that was not in our “plan,” it is ok to change our “plan” or our “goal” for our own life. It’s ok if your goal is not accomplished tomorrow, or even next year.  It’s ok if you decide that maybe that dream that you worked for all your life so far is not it, that job that you have worked for ten years is not it, or that degree that you obtained in college is not IT.  “IT” just is not who you want to be when you grow up.  What God has shown me is that it is not “my goal” and not “my plan” to develop….it’s His goal and His plan.  As long as you know that when you grow up you will be serving the Great I AM….then you have reached the goal, and the plan for getting there is in His hands.

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed”.  Prov 16:3 (author: C. Isaac)

Cluttered Cabinets

Cluttered Cabinets

From the outward apperance of much of my house, the living room, bedrooms and even the kitchen (most of the time) most things have a place and in fact might actually look rather tidy.  No messes on the counter, no clutter on the floor, the beds are made and the extra magizines are put on the shelf. Everything has a place and looks to be in it.  A few specs of dust and spots from everyday life are present but nothing that would be unexpected in a house that is lived in.  There is a sense of pride that I feel in the cleanliness of my house.  Not in a perfectionist type of way but just in the ability to keep it all nice and tidy while keeping the rest of life in tack as well.  When others come into my home they see a rather well kept home; a place of order and control yet comfort.

However open just one cabinet and the reality of how things truly function in the house is eminalty present.  Cups begin to fall out and there definetly is no more space for anything else to fit in.  There are things in the cabinet that have long been forgotten and probably never to used again.  Yet there are things that have long been forgotten that if noticed it might be great to pull out and use again.  But how would one know?  There is not enough time to go thru and clean out all the clutter.  It just keeps piling up. Even if we did have time to clean out the cabnits, would we?  Probably not.  We hold on to those things that we feel that “one day” we might need again.   We definelty do not want others to go poking around in our cabinets, what would they think of our disorganization.  If guest come over we are sure to pull out the items needed for the encounter as to not show anything behind the closed doors of the cabinet.

Isn’t this just like our lives?  From an outward view we try to paint the picture to friends, family and even strangers that everything is all nice and tidy and in our lives.  We have everything all together, no problems or concerns, no worries or fears.  We smile and say things are great.  We might share a few small frustrations to show our human side but never do we want them to see what is hidden behind the cabinet door of our lives.  What if they saw the mess that truly lies within?  Behind the door that we choose to only allow ourselves to know about.  The clutter, the years of stuff just stored up. What if someone knew we were not perfect?

Holiday or Holy Day?

Sometimes allowing ourselves to slow down a bit helps us refocus and re-energize.  I know you are thinking, yeah right, slow down, who me? When?  I would love to but there is no way!  I agree it is hard but there is a way.  We all have choices we can make each day that will allow us to stay in the fast lane all the time or to move over and slow down once in awhile. Even if it is just for a small period of time, you can do it!

 For example, December is always our busiest time of the year.   Between church activities, volunteer activities, Christmas parties for work and friends, and birthdays in our family during the month and then Christmas related activities – shopping, wrapping, baking, entertaining (which means clean up, entertain, and clean up again).  I know I am not alone and many can probably relate.  So the question I had to ask myself during on of these hecktic seasons was “Do I have to do it all?”  Of course my first response was, “Yes, I have to.  I can’t let anyone down.  Everyone is depending on ME!”  WHAT?  How vain could I be to truly believe that the world revolves around ME? Do I really believe that if I miss a detail then life will cease to exist as we know it?  Come on, that is just not true.  Why do I have to go crazier than normal for this 30 day period just trying to meet expectations that I have put on myself?  I have the power to be in control of what is expected of me and no one else.  Wow- was that really me thinking this way?  What do I cut out?  Who will I have to “let down”?   Or, do I really have to cut anyone out or let anyone down?  No, not really- I just need to prioritize and put the most important things first, which is easy to determine.  God first. After God, my next prioritity is my family (meaning my immediate family, not those that I never see.  I love them, but my husband and children should be my focus.)  Then ministry and outreach to others.  So recongnizing these are my top three priorities then the next step was to determine how to put a plan into action.  I know easier said then done right? Maybe not.  My first step was to remind myself that the reason for the season truly is about Jesus.  The Christmas season should be about showing love and compassion for all around us, like Jesus did.  Then to keep up with all the scheduled activities I then needed to reminder myself daily that I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me.  This focus allowed all my other priorities to fall in place. 

 For example, baking cookies is a nice thing to do during this time of year, but with 50 of our closest friends and family doing the same- do they really need me to bake for them too?   Is this something that if I just don’t get done, the whole season will cease?  Nope, I think not.  So I decided to cut out the massive baking plan however I did manage to get in one batch, as to spend time with my youngest son who still enjoys baking cookies (at least the first batch, then boredom sets in and he is off to something else anyway), so yes one batch was just enough for us continue the tradition and spend time with my family but not so over the top that it took me a full day or two in order to accomplish.  So what else could I control?  For us we often have to go to two separate family members homes on Christmas Eve which gets us home late that night, set out cookies for Santa and  then wake up early Christmas morning to unwrap gifts with the kiddos, clean up quickly and begin cooking for a noon dinner with other family to attend with us.  It is always a rush.  Why?  So we re-examined, why the rush?  Why do we have to have Christmas dinner at noon?  Why not have it later in the day- say five or six in the evening.  This allowed us time to spend with our kids after the gifts were open. Time to be thankful for the blessing God has given us.  This allowed us time to clean up and cook without the mad rush and still have a great Christmas dinner with our extended family.  This small change made an amazing difference.  I felt so much more in control.  I was so much more relaxed and able to truly enjoy the day.  I know it may not sound like a big deal but this small change in the itinerary (which I had the power to control anyway) made a huge difference.  I did not let a soul down.  I did not cut anyone out.  In fact I was able to give more of me to the ones who matter most. 

 What other things in our lives do we just need to take a step back from and re-evaluate why we do what we do and what small changes that we have control over and how a small change could make a big impact in our lives?  Maybe it’s not having the kids in a sport for a season.  Maybe it’s letting someone else coach the team.  Maybe it’s hiring someone else to keep the yard for a couple of months to allow you those Saturday mornings to work on something besides the trim work in the yard.  The world is unfortunately not going to cease to exist if you cut something out or change the schedule to slow things down a tad.  That is a hard one for me to accept but it is true.  But it is nice to know that I have the power to control somethings in my life.