When I Grow Up

Ian frowned as he crumpled up another piece of paper and threw it in the recycling bin. "I'm supposed to write about a couple of jobs I might like to do when I grow up," he said. "I thought about being a professional baseball player--or maybe a photographer like Dad. But the chances of me playing pro baseball aren't very good, and I don't really want to be a photographer--no offense to Dad or anything.""Well, I know Dad doesn't expect you to do what he does," Mom assured him. "God has given you talents of your own to use for Him.""Maybe I should want to be a pastor or a missionary," said Ian. "God would probably want me to do something like that, wouldn't He?"Motioning for Ian to follow, Mom got up and walked to the kitchen window. She pointed to a tree in the backyard. "What kind of fruit does that tree out there produce?" she asked.Ian looked at his mother suspiciously. "Apples, of course. It's an apple tree, Mom." Mom nodded. "Yes, and apple trees produce apples, not some other kind of fruit--and they don't struggle to do it. They automatically produce apples because that's what God made them to do. That applies to you too.""Yeah? But I'm not an apple tree," said Ian with a grin.Mom smiled. "No, you're not, so God doesn't expect you to produce apples--and He doesn't expect you to act like somebody you're not either. Whatever you end up doing for a career--working as a lawyer, farmer, missionary, businessman, factory worker, pastor, or whatever--you can share the love of God with others through what you do. He wants Christians serving Him in every field of work. The Holy Spirit is already doing His own work in your life so that you will produce spiritual fruit that points people to Jesus in everything you do, both now and when you grow up.""Well, that makes me feel better," said Ian. "But I still don't know what to write for my paper.""Think about things you like to do and things you do well," suggested Mom. "Those are pretty good clues to help you begin to understand what God may lead you to do for Him someday."–Miriam K. Nowak