Another Year... Another Number...

As I approach my 30th birthday I find myself evaluating the state my life is in.  thinking back to when I was a child, dreaming of what I wanted to be when I 'grew up.'  have I grown up? is anything of that child still remaining in me, or have the years of life, experience, hopefully some wisdom and desensitisation taken its toll?  God says that His Kingdom belongs to the children and I like to think there is still a little of that child left in me.

I still like dreaming, I still like watching cartoons, I still like playing video games...  but more importantly, I still like to think there is good in the world.  we are constantly bombarded with images of suffering and evil and I can understand how someone could grow up in this world and be afraid of it.  but it is still a big world, it is still God's creation and it is still marvellous!

When I was a kid I was either going to be a test cricketer or a chef.  I am neither of those now and I never will be.  instead I have the enjoyment of playing a game of cricket with my kids, watching it on tv and going to a game when I can.   I get the joy of cooking for my family (that's right... the kitchen is MINE) and seeing the excitement in Lilli's eyes when she helps me.  Did I ever dream as a child that I would be married and have 2 kids by now?  no, that simply wasn't even a thought.  Did I dream that I would go to bible college, study youth work and be working in the field with kids who have been abused?  absolutely not, I didn't even know what abuse was back then.  but here I am, a youth worker who is married with 2 kids, not a chef and not a professional cricketer...  and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I am truly blessed.  I have a God renews His blessings on me daily, a family that supports me, I have a wife whom I love with all my being and I have 2 children that are my world.  I have a job that I love, where I get to make a difference, I study courses that interest me and give me knowledge to be able to do my job better.  It isn't a glamourous job, and mostly thankless.  but the privilege of knowing that I have been a part of a team that has made a difference in the lives of children who have suffered the most horrific of experiences is humbling.

As I get older, I hope that my soul gets younger, but it be mixed with a little more wisdom each year.  I haven't got what I dreamed of as a child, I have gotten so much more...

stay tuned...  more to come...

Jeffros