When I Grow Up
Slipping on my ankle-length skirt and hanging my stethoscope proudly around my neck, I took a quick glance in the mirror before heading out the door. I was going to my club's mixer, which is a social event where girls who are interested in joining our club mix and mingle with the girls who are already members. The theme of this mixer was "when I grow up", and of course every girl was creatively dressed up for the occasion.
We had rockstars, princesses, movie stars, and superheros. We had teachers, pro athletes, a farmer, and pregnant women.
When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I curtsied in my long foreign-looking skirt and enthusiastically stated that I am going to be a missionary nurse.
Even since I was really young, I have always answered the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" by saying that I wanted to be a missionary. By the time I was in highschool, I was able to add to that answer that I also wanted to be a nurse. Even though I have been asked that question many times and always answered it in the same way, something was different last night at the mixer.
I may have always answered that I want to be a nurse and a missionary, but I also always felt like that time was far away in the future. Last night, when I said that I want to be a missionary nurse, it was no longer a distant dream, but a reality. I felt like growing up was not something that I was going to do, but something that I was right in the middle of doing.
I pictured my patients that I have been working with in my clinical. I saw myself walking in the room in my white scrubs and being the nurse. I remembered how I felt as I worked in Nicaragua this summer. Therefore when I said, "I want to be a missionary nurse", it had a totally new meaning. This time, it was that much more real, that much closer.
At the end of the mixer, we all huddled up in the middle of the room for a devotional. Our club president reminded us that God has the best plans for our futures, even if it is not what we expect or plan for ourselves. He knows what He wants us to be when we grow up because He has a plan for each and every one of us. This is why we should actively seek Him and His plan for us instead of making our own plans.
In a way, we are always growing up. If you are reading this at the age of seventy and retired, you are still growing up. If you have worked in the same job or lived in the same house for thirty years, you are still growing up. In the Lord, we never stop growing up. God is so vast that there is always room to grow in Him. We are constantly drawing nearer to Him, becoming more in touch with His Spirit, and gaining more understanding of His Word.
As simple as this sounds, I am realizing that God has a plan and a future for every single person, no matter where they are in life. Sometimes the future just means tomorrow. God's plan for us is the absolute best, so let's spend less time planning our lives and days and more time seeking His plan.
So what do you want to be when you grow up? Or the better question is: Who is God calling you to be as you grow in Him daily?
Let's grow up in Him day by day, discovering who He wants us to be and how He wants to use us for His kingdom.
We had rockstars, princesses, movie stars, and superheros. We had teachers, pro athletes, a farmer, and pregnant women.
When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I curtsied in my long foreign-looking skirt and enthusiastically stated that I am going to be a missionary nurse.
Even since I was really young, I have always answered the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" by saying that I wanted to be a missionary. By the time I was in highschool, I was able to add to that answer that I also wanted to be a nurse. Even though I have been asked that question many times and always answered it in the same way, something was different last night at the mixer.
I may have always answered that I want to be a nurse and a missionary, but I also always felt like that time was far away in the future. Last night, when I said that I want to be a missionary nurse, it was no longer a distant dream, but a reality. I felt like growing up was not something that I was going to do, but something that I was right in the middle of doing.
I pictured my patients that I have been working with in my clinical. I saw myself walking in the room in my white scrubs and being the nurse. I remembered how I felt as I worked in Nicaragua this summer. Therefore when I said, "I want to be a missionary nurse", it had a totally new meaning. This time, it was that much more real, that much closer.
At the end of the mixer, we all huddled up in the middle of the room for a devotional. Our club president reminded us that God has the best plans for our futures, even if it is not what we expect or plan for ourselves. He knows what He wants us to be when we grow up because He has a plan for each and every one of us. This is why we should actively seek Him and His plan for us instead of making our own plans.
In a way, we are always growing up. If you are reading this at the age of seventy and retired, you are still growing up. If you have worked in the same job or lived in the same house for thirty years, you are still growing up. In the Lord, we never stop growing up. God is so vast that there is always room to grow in Him. We are constantly drawing nearer to Him, becoming more in touch with His Spirit, and gaining more understanding of His Word.
As simple as this sounds, I am realizing that God has a plan and a future for every single person, no matter where they are in life. Sometimes the future just means tomorrow. God's plan for us is the absolute best, so let's spend less time planning our lives and days and more time seeking His plan.
So what do you want to be when you grow up? Or the better question is: Who is God calling you to be as you grow in Him daily?
Let's grow up in Him day by day, discovering who He wants us to be and how He wants to use us for His kingdom.
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