Name your ambitions! This morning, when I opened my current Bible devotional to enjoy, that was one of the declarative statements being made by the author of the series “Dream Big”. Who doesn’t like to dream big things? Who doesn’t want fame or fortune? Who doesn’t want a place of prominence in their community or to be famous for something. Is life about more than those things? Especially as we leave childhood  innocence behind and  walk into adulthood with hopefully more wisdom, knowledge, and an awareness of how God has gifted us with talents and resources? Scripture certainly gives us a glimpse at what kinds of people will always be among us and what our response should be. (See Matthew 25: 34-40)

Who doesn’t want to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those who are in prison or have become widowed…needs are all around us with endless opportunities to be someone’s answer to a prayer of desperation. Let’s face it, life is hard for all of us sometimes. But, on the flip side, maybe you’ve never known hardship. If that’s you, well, hallelujah! Because our communities are full of people with needs that go beyond what a mere glance at their circumstances often reveals. I love how Deuteronomy 15 instructs how to help the poor among us…”do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be open handed and freely lend them whatever they need.” Later, “give generously..do so without a grudging heart…”.

My ambitions from my younger adult years were pretty selfish. I wanted the perfect husband, large home, wealth, ability to travel, great profession, kids….How those ambitions turned out is a topic for another day. Let’s just say being selfish and self centered didn’t land me everything on the list. But God. Fast forward to where I’m at NOW–age 68–a whole lot smarter, wiser, and less selfish/self-centered (well, let’s say I’m a work in progress on that) and my ambitions have changed. Oh, I do have a near perfect husband. Our home is very modest. We HAVE traveled and plan to embark on more journeys. I had some great years in a variety of work careers; our kids are also near perfect and have given us four REAL cool grandkids. Our wealth? We’ve lived in feast and famine. Famine caused us to take a real honest look at how we used our money and after about three years of applying Dave Ramsey’s tools for how we use our money, we became debt free! In March of 2020 we paid off our mortgage, thus freeing up that monthly payment to be used for other things! Fortunately, God yoked two people together who want to be generous givers, so since 2020 we’ve been able to feed hungry families, help pay utility bills, and cover miscellaneous expenses for friends in need. All these things are good–and hopefully we continue to see more opportunities to help–but deep down I know there is more that God may ask me/us to do for our community and world…

In the closing paragraph of todays’ devotion Goff wrote: “When you start to acknowledge and name the ambitions that are rumbling around inside you, they open up a new vista of what life was meant to be–full of passion and purpose”. When I read that over and over and over, I am able to release my childhood dreams and replace them with new ones–this time ones that include the hungry, the naked, the poor, the widowed, the prisoner…using resources provided by God my Provider. Proverbs 21: 5: “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”  I don’t know about you, but I’m planning to push into plans that are diligent all while keeping my eyes and ears wide open for people to serve.