After getting a certificate in pastry arts and then taking almost two years in college courses, I finally know what I want to do for a living.
Committing to the World Race isn’t easy. Part of me wants to see the world through God’s eyes, hear people’s story, tell others about Jesus, and embrace the adventure, but there’s this other part of me that whispers lies that are hard to brush off.
Lies like,
You aren’t good enough to do this.
You need to get a degree and start your career.
You should be saving your money for something more permanent.
It’s time to grow up and settle down.
This isn’t very responsible.
You can’t make a living doing this.
Just typing those out makes my heart beat a little faster because sometimes I think they’re right. I see people my age getting married, buying a house, getting their dream job, and even putting money into a retirement fund. Those are all wonderful things, but those cards aren’t on the table for me right now. I can’t help but feel like I’ve fallen behind in life.
Last week a lady sitting next to my mom and I asked what I was going to do for a living. I dread this question. I don’t have a good or bad answer. I have no answer. My go to at the moment is distracting them with the good ole “I’m leaving soon for a year long mission trip.” The subject quickly changes and I no longer have to give a legitimate answer. Well, this lady already knew I was going on a mission trip so I couldn’t use that line. While I sit there in silence my mom quickly chimes in saying, “She wants to build a tiny house!”
I actually love this answer because it’s hilarious, true, and makes the lady a little uncomfortable. I whisper to my dad what just happened and we get a good laugh.
To be honest though, it just reminded me once again that I don’t have a plan for when I get back from the world race. Then, all those lies above dance around in my head like they own the place.
It’s time I shut their party down.
The truth is, by most people’s standards I don’t have my life together. But guess what? I don’t care. I truly don’t. I’m not living my life to please people. My definition of success has nothing to do with money or the career I have, but it has everything to do with love. Don’t believe me? Take a glance at my life. I drive around this little beater car that actually just broke down. I don’t have enough money to fix it without using some of the money I saved up for the world race so I decided not to fix my car and instead rely on the availability of my parents to tote me around. (Thanks mom and dad! You’re the best!) I also decided to drop out of college in order to go on the world race.
If I really wanted to I could be using the next year of my life to “prepare for a better future” but since I already know my future is in Heaven, I rather have God use me to build His Kingdom.
The opinions of people don’t concern me; I only care what God thinks. When I get to heaven, it won’t matter to God if I had a successful career or made lots of money on earth. All that matters is how much I loved Him and how much I loved others.
I read something today on Bc Serna’s Instagram that I absolutely loved and sums up what I want to do for a living
“ I guess I’d say I want to love others for a living. Totally not the most encouraging message for a parent to have their kids listen to, but I guess to me; Love isn’t logical, impact means more than income, faith builds more mountains than fear, and Hope is why we have a heartbeat in the first place.”
So next time I get asked the dreaded question, “What are you going to do for a living?” I will have the best answer ever.
I want to love people.
