I Can Be Whatever I Want to Be

Someone recently asked me what my plans were after I graduate from grad school.

I answered, "Well, I'd like to work for a newspaper or magazine as a writer or multimedia contributor.  I'm open to wherever God leads me.  I love to write and I even have my own blog."

So they responded, with a bit of disgust in their voice, "But you're not gonna be one of those people who blogs for a living, right?  That's silly."

I was so taken aback and my immediate reaction was to become defensive.  Not only do I think it was ignorant to make assumptions about people's professions, but I also think that they were placing a limit on me.  Is blogging not good enough?  If that's what I enjoy, why shouldn't I go after that dream and make money doing it?  You don't even know me well enough to know my favorite tv show, but you are choosing to tell me what profession I should go into?

Perhaps, I am taking their comment way out of context.  Yet, I feel that my concerns are validated.  The comment made me upset, then later I realized that I shouldn't let it fuel my anger.  I should let it fuel my desire to make a name for myself.  To make a name for the gifts that God has given me.

When I am discouraged by the comments of man, my dad likes to tell me a story of his childhood school days.  When he was younger, he enjoyed art class so much.  He was excited to go to class and see what his imagination could come up with.  This stopped one day when his teacher told him that his art "wasn't good enough" and that he would never amount to anything.  This disheartened him so much that he never pursued art any further.  He tells me this story so that I am reminded that the words of man, when said in a negative and trifling manner, mean as much as dirt in a pie.

Philippians 4:12-13 says, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

This verse keeps me steadfast of the promise that nothing is impossible with God.  So, the next time someone comes at me with: "Oh, you're not gonna [insert trifling remark here], are you?", I'll hold firm to God's promise knowing that it is His word that matters and not the word of man.