Yesterday at a friend’s house for a fall brunch, I sat and ate with five women I didn’t know. With a list of icebreaker questions we kept the conversation going. What is one of your dreams? Elaborate.
I blurted out, “I have lots of dreams. I want to go on a mission’s trip, learn a second language, learn to play an instrument, and open up a coffee house for teens/twenties.”
I didn’t mention these dreams:
Write a book. (I have four ideas.)
Go on a week’s vacation with my husband to Alaska or somewhere tropical. (We never had a honeymoon. We eloped in Las Vegas.)
Visit every state in the US. (To see the diversity of our country.)
Go on a mission’s trip with my family. (To experience serving others as a family)
Visit the Holy Land.
Host a foreign exchange student.
Volunteer at the Special Olympics.
I could add more, but I won’t bore you.
Out of the six of us, only one other gal shared saying, “I know this is a kid thing, but I’d like to swim with dolphins someday.” I said, “You don’t have to be a kid to swim with dolphins.”
The other ladies couldn’t think of anything. Not one thing.
I felt naked sharing my dreams with strangers. Yet it felt good. Maybe my sharing inspired one of them to dream again.
Why don’t we dream anymore? Is dreaming something only kids do? I feel sad for people without a dream. My guess is everyone has at least one.
Where have all the dreamers gone?
The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson is a great book about dreaming. I believe God gave us all a dream. But for some reason, we think we’re too old, or our dream is silly or too big. So we discredit it. We hide it and pretend it’s not there. We’re ashamed to share the secret dream of our hearts. Why?
I’m heartbroken by this. Some people are naturally the “dreamer type” more than others. But let’s face it, we all dream. I want to know why we let our dreams die.
Last week, I saw the movie The Dreamer. Loved it. Cried too, of course. I relate to the girl with the horse. I’m a dreamer.
I dream of making a difference, helping the helpless, experiencing all of God’s creation, and trying and learning new things. I’m hopeful.
Last year, my family and I attended our neighbor’s graduation. He was about 40, married with children, graduating from tech school. I loved watching him receive his diploma. I cried watching a man in his 70’s walk on stage to receive his. He never gave up on his dream. Wow!
What if one of our dreams is actually a desire God gave us, one He wants us accomplish in our lifetime?
Let’s not ignore our dreams, big or small. Let’s start dreaming again. Dream for the fun of it. Write it down. Dream huge. Then take baby steps towards achieving it each day. And watch it become a reality.
Our God is able. His dreams for us are bigger than we could ever hope or imagine.
Without dreamers, we wouldn’t have the light bulb, telephones, computers, airplanes, electricity, Peanut M&M’s, potato chips, a pen, a pillow, a hairbrush, or an eyelash curler. We need dreamers.
Dreams start as seeds. Seeds grow with proper care slowly over time. Maybe this reminder is just what you need. Dreams aren’t just for kids. And if you think they are, remember who you are. A child of God. Be that kid again and . . . dream!
(c) 2005 Tiffany Stuart
John Haggai said it this way: “Attempt something so impossible that unless God is in it, it is doomed to failure.”
My translation: DREAM BIG.
Thank you for writing about dreaming. I think someone who lives without dreams is someone who has no hope, lacks God’s vision for their lives, someone who has died emotionally/mentally, and is just waiting for their physical death. -Karen
Let’s fulfill some our dreams since childhood. Dreams are a part of what makes the future hopefull and fun. But lets not forget the dreams that we have already dreamed and accomlished. Remember San Diego?
Bruce Wilkinson’s “The Dreamgiver” is one of my favorite books. I do believe God gives us all dreams – He plants them in our hearts. It is FEAR that keeps us from fulfilling those dreams -fear of how much time it will take, or of how it will change us or our families, fear of failing – of never actually accomplishing what we have dreamed. Well, someone once said “Faith is is the opposite of fear”. And, with faith, anything is possible!!
Another great Blog Tiffany..Thank you for reminding me that my dreams can come to pass if I can only step out in faith and allow God to be the dreamgiver in my life.
Tiffany~
Thank you. I needed some word on this subject. See, I’m in midst of giving up on my dream. I’m trying to figure out what to do with my life now. It’s hard to cotinue chasing that dream when you can’t live on it. It’s hard to continue fighting for something that you know God gave you, but you have know idea what He meant for you to do with it specifically. It makes it even harder when you can’t sustain physical life with it. But, the worst part is, that it breaks your heart at even the thought of giving it up when you know that the desire was put there by a divine force in the first place.
I’m tellng you too much I suppose. But, I wanted to thank you, because I’ve been searching for some wisdom…I’ve been looking for something to help me make this decision. I will keep this entry and all the comments left by others in my mind.
Thanks,
CP