Choosing the Future You

Who do you want to be in five years, ten years, fifty years?

I don't necessarily mean your long-term goals - Where do you want to end up? or What job do you hope to have?

But, what kind of person do you want be?



Recently, several things have given me reason to stop and deeply ponder this question.

And I know who I want to be.

A woman who...

is wise

is kind and compassionate

is joyful
loves selflessly
practices thankfulness

walks in friendship with God

encourages others
gives generously and sacrificially
is marked by faithfulness
is grounded in the truth of God's Word
lives out her faith in practical ways
is always growing in grace.

That's the kind of woman I want to be five years, ten years, fifty years down the road.

But 2028 is not the time to choose what kind of woman I want to be in 2028.  Now is the time to choose who I'll be then.

My choices, your choices - today - are the things that shape and form our characters in the future.  We can't believe that one day we'll wake up, magically mature and Godly and exemplary.  How we choose to act, how we choose to think, the way we respond to everyday life - these are the bricks that build the people we become in the future.

I can't hope to be a wise woman someday if I don't take steps toward wisdom now.  When correction comes, how do I respond to it?  When I have the opportunity to learn, do I take it?  Do I listen to and glean from others (whether in person or through some other media like books), or do I fill my mind with shallow thoughts?  Do I ask God for the ability to sift through various situations I encounter, or do I rely on my own ideas and understanding?

So who do you want to be?

Today is the time to choose the future you, to respond to God's work in your life.  Character never happens overnight.