“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.” (Genesis 37:5-11 NIV)
Working with a small group of students during a Community Table activity, the children were asked to make a linear graph that started with the year of their present grade and ended with their career goal. There were four lines in between the grade line and the career goal line. This is where these youngsters were asked to write what it would take to reach their career goal. God was blessing them through this activity because many of us did not have this type of exercise when we were primary age kids. We did not have the opportunity to specifically think about our careers and come up with an inaugural road map on how to get to our goals at such an early age. Blessed indeed! And I was blessed by their completion of this exercise. These Pre-K to third grade learners proved that they should be grouped with people who can say, “I have a dream.”
Listen to some of their goals they listed: Content Developer in the software world, Doctor of Veterinarian Science, Technical Expert, and an Olympic Swimmer.
The goals these youngsters listed went beyond what we were exposed to or even dreamed of when we were young. Their exposure to different fields of work exceeded the limited childhood exposure that the five adult mentors had experienced. However, we did not laugh, and their peers were not like Joseph’s brothers in the Biblical story above. There was no hating, no doubting, and no snickering when the children shared their dreams. As a side note, I told the children that I was going to keep their graphs and see if they focused on the milestones in the years between their present grade and when they hopefully reach their aspired goal. I said, “I’m going to look at these 20 years from now and see what you are doing.” Then I said, “Oh, my! In twenty years I will be ninety-five.” A compassionate second grader patted me on the shoulder and said, “You are going to make it.”
Now, I am writing this today to encourage all adults to keep the matter in mind. Keep the children’s dreams in mind. Don’t discount their ability to reach their expressed goals. Motivate them every chance you get! Don’t direct them to an easier career destination. Keep the matter in mind. Keep supporting their objectives to attend specialized schools, finish post-secondary education, continue learning, continue practicing, to never stop persisting, doing good work, being brave in the face of challenges, and not worrying about whether others like their pursuits or not. The content in the preceding sentence that you just read came from their linear career graphs. Isn’t that awesome!
Share this with others so that they too can be one of the adults that help children’s dreams come to fruition. And Biblically speaking, our children should exceed the goal attainments of our generation. So again, keep the matter in mind. Like Joseph, their dreams can come true and perhaps their paths will be more direct than Joseph’s because of your support and motivation. Look at what happened with Joseph in the closing verses. Keep the matter in mind and encourage young learners to make their dreams come true and assure them that they will have greater success if they stay close to God. Have a great Friday. Bless the children! And, as for you…be blessed too!
“Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom there is a divine spirit?” So, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are. You shall be in charge of my house, and all my people shall be obedient to you; only regarding the throne will I be greater than you.” Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I have placed you over all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 41:38-41 NASB)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King