When I Grow Up...

Psalm 32:8 -- "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you."

Sitting across from me with her lips puckered out and her eyes closed, my niece waited for me to apply her lip color. A bundle of nervous energy, it's always a gift to spend some time with her, but today of all days she makes me smile. With a fresh phlebotomy certificate under her belt she sits in my make-up chair to work on colors for her wedding. Excited doesn't begin to describe her. But in that blissful mix of anxiety and anticipation is some pretty deep routed worry. She starts to tell me that she's glad she did the phlebotomy training but she has no hopes of making it a career. She doesn't want that potentially dangerous job and proceeds to tell me all the things that can go wrong when taking someone's blood. A lab assistant once, myself, I have been aware of the potential for disaster when working with patients, but I now have a fresh perspective - and fear - of the true dangers hidden in the simple act of obtaining blood samples. I'll never again be able to sit in the big plastic chair at Quest Labs with the ease I once did.

She sighed loudly as I reached for the gloss. "I just don't know what I want to be when I grow up" she says in frustration.

I lean back and look at her. I know the feeling.

Right there in black and white, God addresses this issue in the book of Psalms. For me, the words are a comfort and there are still moments when I cling to them. Wondering around in a seemingly aimless manner through out my own academia, it wasn't until just recently that I settled in to what I consider to be my own calling in life. ...and I'm a great deal older than my niece. So it is with great confidence that I can share the words of the Psalmist with her.

We really only have but ONE true job on this earth. That is to share Jesus. Knowing that and diving into God's word goes a long way to settling an anxious and restless spirit. For those of God's children still wondering what life really has in store - I share something that my Dad once shared with me. Stay in The Spirit and you will always have direction. Like true North on a compass, the Holy Spirit will guide us in the way we should go. It's wonderful to know that when the sailing gets rough, not only do we have a fixed direction, but we're told that the Lord will watch over us, as well.

So, while lying in wait to discover what to be when we grow up, it's nice to know that there are moments when we can focus on simply growing. God will handle the rest. Stay in the Spirit and you will always have direction.