What do you want to be when you grow up?

Even when we were children and still learning how to tie our shoes, we were asked the famous question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" As Americans we are taught to have dreams, inspirations, hopes, and desires. Many of us are showered with toys and education tools which encourage and guide our talents and interests. As children we are told that we can change the world! We are told that we are brilliant and can do great things.

As the years pass I feel as if reality sets in and some of the passion slips away while we become more serious and realistic about the future. As we get older, the culture we live in urges us to pursue high paying careers and I feel like less and less emphasis is put upon those interests we might have in life. This society is so competitive and I feel as if we are, over night, suppose to change our mindsets from childish dreams to grown up tasks.

I don't understand why we have to choose between saving the world and having a responsible adult-like job. What if I wanted to change the world and make a grown up career out of it? What if more children held onto their heroic fantasies as they grew older? What might happen?

No matter where a person calls home, there are other individuals near who could use a friend, a helping hand, a glimpse at the love of Christ. What if community members were inspired to give five minutes a day, putting aside their desires to aiding, comforting, and loving someone around them? What if we took an interest in the community and political problems in the local area and what if we regained our childhood ideas of saving the world and took a stand? What would happen if communities stopped turning a blind eye to domestic violence, human trafficking, homelessness, hunger, substance abuse, and poor access to health care? Would we see a difference?

I can see God's thumbprint on every individual around. He has a purpose for each life, each moment in time, each act that is taken. Can communities be re-inspired to stand along side each individual despite race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and age? No person should be left to stand alone and no child should feel pressured to give up his or her dreams of changing the world.