The other day I was talking with my daughter. In her jr. high English class they were having a debate with the question, “Is it the girl’s choice only, or is the guy’s and girl’s choice to get an abortion?” She came and asked my advice. I told her – You’ll never get the right answer if you ask the wrong question. I then told her that sometimes, asking the right question was more important than finding the right answer (one of my profound moments).
Anyway, this isn’t about abortion debates, it’s about that question – What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?
It’s a question my friends and I are always kidding around about… but it’s true. I’m the oldest at 42. Then we have a couple guys in their mid-30’s. A couple more guys in their late-20’s. We all have been asking that same question of each other for the last three years. It’s more of a joke than anything, but then I got to thinking “You’ll never get the right answer if you ask the wrong question.”
I thought about this for a long time, and then I came up with what I think is a better question. In fact, it’s the same question, but I’ve added 2 letters.
What Don’t I Want To Be When I Grow Up?
I can give you a list a mile long of what I don’t want. And before you know it, my mind began to focus much more because the clutter of all those things around me were removed because I realized what I didn’t want. I’ll have to give you more details on this later… I don’t want to get too deep here.
For Christmas this year my kids got me a t-shirt (not the only gift – ha ha). It has now become my new favorite shirt. It is one of those “Life Is Good” t-shirts if you’ve ever seen them. You can see the logo to the right. “All who wander are not lost.” That’s me baby!
I’m hard to peg. I keep moving forward. I am unorthodox. I hate jobs. I like Mickey Mouse. I love going to poor areas of the world and spending time in 3rd world prisons. I enjoy going fishing by myself. I love a great fight at a hockey game. I love high definition. I hate the internet sometimes. I’m thankful for the internet sometimes. I miss my grandmother. I hate divorce. My heroes in life are all Christian missionaries. I like going to the mall. I love Mexican food. I don’t like the public school system. I haven’t worn a watch in 5 years. I don’t put my trust in government. I hate it when my kids are sick. I’m not a sheep. I wish sometimes I was still a missionary in East Africa where life was more simple… and I could wander. I hate alcohol. I love my country and I have deep respect for our leaders. I want to spend enough time fishing to catch a 10 lb bass. I wish I was in college again. I don’t ever want to write a resume again. I struggle with institutionalized church sometimes. I love cutting-edge, daring faith. I pray for my pastor. I’m loved by God. I love going to NASCAR races. I love to travel. I like to wander with my wife of 19 years. I don’t like green olives. I don’t like black olives. T-shirts and jeans. I definitely don’t want a woman president! Ahhhh! I like a sad movie. I love a good pair of Rockport hiking boots. I could go on… in fact, I’m going to end this post and go wander in my mind on my own.