career choices

This evening when I was on a quest to find a particular memento in my childhood scrapbook, I discovered the "Career Planning Report" I received in the ninth grade after taking a differential aptitude test. According to this informative report, my first choice of career goals was in the "Literary and Legal" group. "The occupational group which you name fits well with the school subjects and activities that you like," the report stated. "It also matches your educational plans and your tested aptitudes. On the basis of these facts, it looks like an occupational field which is a good match for your abilities and interests."

With great interest, I flipped the report over to learn which careers fell within the "Literary and Legal" group. Five choices were offered: book critic, librarian, editor, lawyer, and reporter. While I did aspire to be a reporter for a stretch during my childhood - when I was in the sixth grade I briefly published a newspaper that featured my own reporting on major league baseball games, with a strong emphasis on the Cincinnati Reds - I never considered any of the other four options.

Curious, I began to read through the groups of jobs and occupations listed on the back of the report to see which category "pastor" fell into, and I was surprised to discover that no ministerial career options were included at all. The closest thing I could find was the "Education and Human Welfare" category, which included: school teacher, college professor, guidance counselor, social worker, and clinical psychologist. I never considered any of those options either, despite the influence of my mother (school teacher) and my father (college professor).

I found the following instructive words in the report's fine print: "Remember that this report tells you how things look at the present time, and that your interests and goals may change." Indeed. I imagine that the percentage of high school freshmen who accurately predict their career path is fairly low. Not only may their interests and goals change over time, but they may discover career options that have never been on their radar screens - or their career planning reports. Thanks be to God, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us (Eph. 3:20).