Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
- Colossians, 3:23-24
What do you want to be when you grow up?
That’s a question I think everyone has heard not just once but more likely many times in their lives. It’s almost universally understood that most people have something, one thing, that they are best suited for and that they will find the most fulfillment doing.
When I was younger, I thought like this. I spent most of my teen and tween years praying for God to tell me what it was He wanted me to do for a career. I asked others to pray for me. I sought out prophets to ask them to intercede with God on my behalf and tell me what He said I should do with my life.
Invariably, the response I got was this: “God loves you as you are, and is satisfied with you. Keep doing what you are doing.”
That helped me times zero. The thought that God was pleased with what I was doing made no sense to me, because I wasn’t doing anything I considered worthwhile or that I had been told was “good enough.”
In my heart of hearts, what I really wanted to be was a mother and a homemaker. But I was raised with the idea that in order to succeed, in order to please God, I needed to be successful/do something my mom could brag about to her friends. And staying home to raise children…apparently didn’t count. So my teen, tween, and the first half of my thirties were spent trying on a bucketload of different hats to see which one was “the One.”
Friend, I don’t know if this speaks to you at all. But if it does, I want you to know that in the end:
“God loves you as you are, and is satisfied with you.”
You don’t have to be “successful.” Pious. Wealthy. Whatever. All you need to be is yourself, and all you need to do is trust God. He knows the plans he has for you, and they are for good.
So, keep doing what you are doing. Wherever you are at on your life journey, as you continue to seek out God’s wisdom and guidance, keep going. Persevere. And put your trust in Him, because He’s the best thing that could ever happen to you.
