This week I was asked whether I envision staying with my organization for a long time. (Don’t worry. I’m not about to say something my bosses don’t know!) At this moment in time, my answer is “Absolutely.” I love the mission and purpose of Youth Villages. We are working to transform child welfare across the country. We strive to restore families if possible so that children can be raised at home.

I enjoy working collaboratively with my colleagues to identify future leaders and invest in their development. That’s tremendously exciting and every day, every week seems to bring new challenges, new projects and new initiatives. I love the dynamic nature of what I do, and while I no longer work directly with children, I recognize that what I do ultimately impacts the children we serve.

But…and it’s a big but (no pun intended) - I know that there are other challenges in life that interest me tremendously. I care about child welfare issues in general, which cover not only physically and emotionally abused children but child exploitation in any capacity. I care about the travesty of human trafficking. I’m passionate about issues of women’s rights in other parts of the world. And problems regarding education and illiteracy are never far from my mind.

I guess what I’m saying is that there are so many social issues that I care about so it’s feasible that I could go and work somewhere else, whether in another state or another country. It’s not about the position or the company. For me, it’s about making a significant impact on the world and leaving a legacy of serving others. That could take a number of forms, and I’m not going to place limits on what I can do.

That’s what I was thinking about as I was making macaroni and cheese for my daughter tonight. (Because for her, there is nothing more important than macaroni and cheese when she’s hungry and craving processed cheese). I casually asked how she would feel if I ever left Youth Villages and worked somewhere else.

Lexi dropped everything she was doing and said, “Mommy, no. Why would you ever do that? You love Youth Villages. You get to help children every day. There’s nothing more important.” She continued doing her homework, but felt moved to elaborate on her answer. “Mommy, don’t you know how lucky you are to have a job? Have you ever heard of a free lunch at school, Mommy? Well, I know because some of the kids in my class are on free lunch because their parents don’t have a job and can’t get one. You just don’t know how lucky you are, Mommy. I don’t want to hear you talking about this again.”

Ummm…okay, sweetie. It was just a hypothetical question. I didn’t know you understood the economy so well.

I know I’m very lucky to be working when others aren’t. I don’t take that for granted. I just know that I could be called to the farthest corners of the earth, and I don’t ever want to be afraid of going and serving because I’m content and comfortable where I am.

What about you? What would it mean to go outside your comfort zone?