In the back of Mother's closet was a big box. You never could tell what you would find in there. Some days it was full to overflowing, other days there wasn't so much. But Kathy and her sister Julie watched and waited with anticipation for the day Mom cleaned out her clothes closet, like when the season changed and she put away her winter clothes and got out her summer ones. Those were the best days of all. The box was always full, full, full!
You see, Kathy and Julie loved to play dress up! And the box was the place where Mother put the clothes she was going to give to the Good Will or take to the church Community Service Center. And before she got them washed and ironed up to give away, she would let the girls get in there and play.
Some days they played like they were high society ladies. They wore the highest heels they could find and the biggest hats. They pretended they were going to concerts and fancy restaurants, and out for a drive in a big limousine. Some days they were career women, dressing and re-dressing as teachers, surgeons, pastors, executives, lawyers, whatever. Some days they even got their brother Jason and his friend David to play so they could pretend they were married and had a family. [The storyteller may want to bring a large box of hats, clothes, and other accouterments and dress several children quickly—for example with a Bible for a pastor, a hat and a briefcase for an executive, a cellular phone and a legal pad for a lawyer, etc.—to heighten interest.]
It's fun to think about what you will be when you grow up. It's fun to pretend you are grown up now and to think of all the things grownups do. Sometimes you may even get to wishing you could grow up faster because it seems like grownups can do whatever they want and don't have anyone telling them what to do all the time.
But there's an interesting text over in the book of Ecclesiastes that I would like to have _____ read for us. [Let one of the children read Ecclesiastes 11:9a from a modern version. "Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth."]
This passage was written by the wise man Solomon. First of all, he wants you to know that while it's lots of fun to think ahead to what you will be and do in the future, there are lots of good things about being a child. And your job right now is to enjoy all those good things. It's your job right now to be part of your family, to play and talk and work together with your family. It's your job right now to go to school and learn all you can about the world and the people in it and what makes them tick. It's your job right now to make friends and to learn to get along with other people. It's your job right now to learn about God and develop your talents for His service. God wants you to feel good about being a boy or a girl. He wants you to be happy as a part of your family and as a member of His family. He wants you to enjoy this time in your life to the full. And He wants you to know, that whatever you decide to be when you grow up, He will have a special work for you to do for Him in sharing the good news about Jesus with whomever you meet.