Dream Catcher
7:42 PM
She was a dancer once, she told me with a sigh. I wouldn't have known it to be true until I saw her dancing at the back of the church, gracefully lifting up praise to her King, the best way she knew how.
He always wanted to be a professional soccer player. His sister eyed him in surprise, "You never said!"
She was worked as a nanny but her eyes shone when she spoke of becoming a pastry chef.
They're the dreamers, who secretly long to be a musician, a screenwriter, a novelist, a pastor, a missionary to Kenya, an architect, a singer, a counselor, an actor, a wife, a mother, a husband, a father......"the list never ends.
After many years of conversations about, "What I would do if I could," I've come to realize that at most about 10% of people were actually living their dreams, while the rest were living their lives on hold; oftentimes for very good reasons. They had responsibilities that took them far away from their dreams, families to take care of, college loans to pay back. And yet, every once in awhile, during some short-lived moment at work, they'd catch themselves in another world where dreams were no longer dreams, but reality at play.
I've been fortunate. I've seen many of my best held dreams come to fruition and the Lord just keeps fulfilling more and more things I'd never thought possible. Why He's blessed me so, I can only imagine. I'm nothing particularly special, I have no talents that are that out of the ordinary. But I know one thing, those talents are His. He's taken away some dreams too. All my life I'd wanted to be an actress. I'd grown up doing at least three shows a year in our local theater. I thought I'd continue on and major in drama in college. That proved not to be His plan and it nearly broke my heart to say goodbye. Other dreams I thought He'd canned for good. After some tough experiences as a kid, I never thought I'd be any good at worship leading and yet He's given me so many opportunities in that direction.
I'm beginning to think that maybe God's a dreamer Himself. I mean, He dreamed you and I up, didn't He? Once, long before the creation of the world, you were some cock-eyed notion in the head of an almighty God. And yet, even with all the chaos and madness and heartache that He knew was to come into the world, you were too good a dream to give up. He went ahead and made the world anyway.
I was talking with my Mom the other day, and she mentioned how amazing it is that any of us exists. If even one of our ancestors had made different decisions, we might not be alive. Your particular DNA code is one series of very fortunate events! You were meant to be here, at this very time! How many close calls you may have had genetically throughout the generations, we'll never know. You, however, were a dream that kept on living, that kept on being dreamt, until, at last, you were born.
After all that nuisance to see that you existed, I find it hard to fathom that God would be disinterested in how you spent your time here on earth. For goodness sakes, if your entire purpose in life was to eat and sleep and watch television, I'm not sure it wouldn't have been better if some ancestor had gotten conveniently wiped out in some plague!
And there you sit, you burst of cosmic genius, you, staring vacantly into your computer screen, a half empty bag of potato chips in your lap. So I feel I must ask that burning question.....
"Delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" Psalms 37:4. I've had the distinct impression throughout my life, that He gets a sort of glee in fulfilling long held dreams. How often have I stood at the brink of something tremendous and felt His hand upon my shoulder and heard His voice in my ear saying, "Here you are child. At last what was fought for is won." And He certainly doesn't think small! Since I've come to know the Lord, He's taken me quite literally all over the world. I've sung in famous concert halls and refugee camps, and I've learned that you can find exceedingly more joy covered in good, honest dirt, than all the glitter and lights of a brilliant stage. He's taught me lessons learned only in dark places and brought me out into the fullness of life. And through it all, the dreams that accompanied me have only grown in dynamic and size. Instead of wanting a life lived for one, they encompass a whole lot of other people and their dreams too!
Perhaps as you read these ramblings of mine, a long held dream is rising up in your thoughts. It may be something you gave up a long time ago, or something you've long felt was unattainable. But now, you feel the urgings of the Holy Spirit to, "Dream the Impossible Dream." What can you do to start upon this new, adventurous life of yours? "
STEP 1:
Step 2: Prepare for the ride of your life!
And just remember,
May the King of our days guide you in your steps as you follow His.
~Rachel~
2 comments
Your mom passes on the links to your posts to me. I LOVE the improvements you've made to your blog and the header photo is amazing. I understand the passion you have to serve the Lord, having left home for the mission field when I was 20. 33 years later, I can attest to the truth that He is faithful and life is an ever-changing adventure when you follow the Spirit. Keep writing such inspirational posts and daring to follow Him!
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