Pursue Your Best Dream--No Matter What

Illustration: Didier Millotte

“When I grow up, I want to be a housekeeper.”

That is what I used to say as a teenager. Not that it was my dream. But as a homebody, I wished to have a career that would keep me indoors. Deep in my heart, I dreamed of being a writer, but I would not dare to say it aloud, because I thought being a writer was not a real job.

Often what we say is what we end up doing. Some years later, I did become a housekeeper in a guest house. I have sweet memories from those days such as the chicken with mushrooms dish for which I received applause. Despite these experiences, my secret dream came back with full force founded on a new motivation: serving God through literature.  

One catch though: I was 24. 

Because of this, my relatives were persuading me to think about marriage. In addition, my
father had spent a great deal of money for my hotel training. He rightly expected his
investment would provide me with adequate work to support myself .
Given these realities, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be selfish of me to drop everything and go back
to school?” I prayed, asking God for assurance. Finally, I resigned and enrolled at the Faculty of Arts. Then came the flood of criticisms: “You will be too proud to be a good wife! You just want to boast with more degrees.”

I thank God the only person who had the right to complain gave me his full support – my father. He understood my desire very well. He, too, had preceded me on the rocky path of a career change and vocational training. Since he was young, he had always wanted to be a pastor, but he ended up as a school teacher. I remember him saying, “I don’t want my Savior to find me looking for money when He returns.” Finally he applied for an early retirement and joined the Faculty of Theology. Of course, he too endured ridicule and teasing among his family, friends and classmates. Today his dream came true. He is a pastor.

When I reflect on our paths of vocational training, I wonder what is really at stake when one decides to make a career out of his or her passion. What can possibly be gained, or lost?

Obviously, the best would be to succeed and blossom in your new career. The worst, of course, would be to find out that you realized your passion, but had a wrong view of what the job would be like and end up being dissatisfied. It would certainly be wiser to take time to think and to ask questions of trade professionals in order to better understand all the details of the job.

In retrospect, I wish I had followed those first steps. The first difficulty arose while completing the Faculty registration form. There was no option for a “Writing major.” I ended up choosing French Literature. Once I had completed my bachelor’s degree, I realized that publishing houses were looking for majors in editing, publishing, or journalism.

I sank into depression. My worries kept me awake at night. The lack of sleep made me grow ever more weary. Finally, I chose to continue my studies.

In the meantime, I took some time to rewind the tape back to the starting point. I found out that my prayer the day I resigned was not specifically to become a writer. Rather, I had prayed to serve my Lord with my gift in any way that would involve literature with Christian values: translation, collecting testimonies, writing devotional, as well as fiction. 

So, apparently, I had allowed my vision to shrink over the years.

Today, I work in a local publishing house writing and editing educational curriculum. In addition to this, I translate curriculum for pastors and missionaries whenever possible. I also keep writing articles for Christian magazines. In all, the Lord has helped me to realize my original dream. I am a writer both for my work and as service to Him. I am grateful to God for every accomplishment He has helped me to have in this field.

Nevertheless, having lacked a clear and definite goal from the outset made it harder for me to fully appreciate each step in my new career. As Sir James M. Barrie, the Scottish novelist who created the character Peter Pan, said: “The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.” 

Ivanova Nono Fotso.