OPTIONS

As a freshman in college, I had no idea what career I wanted to pursue. And I was scared. 

And ignorant.

I was ignorant of my own skills and interests and I was ignorant of the incredible variety of jobs and workplaces in this big old world.

So I went for the one job that I knew (outside of running a cash register at the family hardware store). 

That was teaching. Very familiar territory by the time you have finished 12 years of schooling.

Ultimately, it turned out that teaching was a good fit for me. So I had moved in the right direction even though my motivation was skewed by fear and ignorance.

Now it amazes me that I had so little imagination regarding my career choice.

At 54, I can easily think of a couple of dozen careers I could have really enjoyed. 

Don't worry - I am not talking here about regret. (Even though most other career choices would have paid significantly better than teaching and youth ministry ever did.) I don't sit around wishing I had become a psychologist or a novelist or an architect instead. All I am saying is that I have wider interests now than I ever entertained as a teenager. 

And that's a good thing. It keeps life interesting.

Besides, I don't have to regret anything since my current situation allows me to build my own job description. It looks like it will involve cross-cultural missions, teaching, writing, preaching, studying, and photography, among other skills and interests. 

And that's just fun. God has been good to me.