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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me dream about careers-and trust that, whatever I choose, you'll help me with it! Amen.

Jesus went to the temple [like a church] in His town and read from the Torah, the Jewish Bible. "The Spirit of the Lord is in me," He read. "He has sent me to make the poor happy, make the blind see, and tell you that it's time for God to save His people." Jesus looked at everyone and said, "Today, this reading has come true."

Grownups like to ask kids what you want to be when you grow up - but for most kids, that changes a lot over time. You can remember when you wanted to be both a firefighter and an Olympic ice skater; now, you want to be a teacher. You'll probably change your mind a few more times, too, before you're ready to start a career.

One thing that made Jesus rare is that, from a very young age, He seemed to know exactly what His job was supposed to be and even how to do it. In this week's Gospel (Lk 1:1-4;4:14-21), He says so.

Jesus reads from the Jewish Bible about someone sent to help the poor, people with disabilities and the world - and tells everyone that person is Him. His job will be to save the world by teaching people about God, helping them get close to God and even giving His life for everyone.

When you have ideas about jobs you dream of, it can be hard to explain them. You might want to build bridges, but you don't know if that means you'll be an architect or a construction worker. Right now, those career names are just confusing words.

It's OK not to have an answer for grownups who ask what you want to be when you grow up. You're still a kid, and you don't have to have that figured out already. You're not Jesus!

Even Jesus had to trust that the Holy Spirit would help Him do whatever He needed to in His career, at the right time. That's true for everyone else, too: If you work hard and trust God, you'll find your career path. God is in every job, whatever you do![[In-content Ad]]

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