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“What do you want to be, when you grow up?”  In other words, “What is your purpose?”  A very simple question.  A simple question that isn’t easy to answer.  Regardless of what age you happen to be, when it’s asked.

It’s not an easy question to answer because, for most of us, the only answer that we can truly give is what we want to be or what we think is our purpose.  And history has proven that what we think or what we want isn’t always the best.  We all have a solid track record of desiring the wrong things or seeking out that which isn’t good for us.

It’s also not an easy question to answer because, for most of us, we realize that in answering the question, in speaking our purpose or what we want to be when we grow up, makes it real.  Real in the sense that now you have to deal with it. 

It’s one thing to have someone get naked and howl at the moon, out in a field.  It’s quite another thing to have someone get naked and howl at the moon, in your living room.  You can simply ignore the former.  But you have to deal with the latter.

And dealing with your purpose in life isn’t an easy job.  For dealing with your purpose in life requires you to look beyond yourself. To look from without, as opposed to always looking from within.  Which will, in turn, cause you to experience the pain of growth.  For no growth happens from within.  And no growth happens without pain.

In order to grow, in order to be more and in order to experience more, you must come to the realization that you are without.  For none of us will ever look for something, until we realize that we want something.  Until you realize that there is more to your life, than simply existing, you will never seek the more that can and will only be found in discovering your purpose.  That which you want to be, when you grow up.

Notice that the question isn’t “What do you have to be, when you grow up?”  For have to be isn’t a purpose.  Have to be is a directive, an imperative that is without choice.  The question is “What do you want to be, when you grow up?” 

Want to be is a purpose, a direction, a desire and a longing.  Want to be requires you to acknowledge your without-ness.  Because it gives words to your leading and longing.  The something that you realize that you want.

After you come to terms with your without-ness, then you start the painful process of growth.  You will be called to change some of your long-held biases, prejudices and perspectives.  You will be required to open your heart, mind and eyes.  You will be led to experience new things.  You will make mistakes.  In essence, once you embrace your without-ness, you will be transformed, from the inside out. 

Pain will also be experienced as you let go of the reigns.  As you take your hands off the steering wheel.  As you surrender your life. 

God, who desires for you to discover and live into their purpose for your life, has to take the lead.  It’s God’s will for you to want to be all that you have been created to be.  Yet, God will never force you to be all that you’ve been created to be. For God knows the power that is found in the freedom of choice. God knows the power of a “Yes”, when “No” is also a viable option.

Saying “Yes” to God is the good and right thing to do.  And it’s the only way that you will ever be able to truly find your purpose in life.  That which you want to be, when you grow up. 

But it’s not without it’s fair share of pain.  For saying “Yes” to God requires you to say “No” to your own selfish desires and your own wants.  In fact, this is where the pain of transformation hits the hardest:  The process of transforming your want to, for your life, into God’s want to, for your life.