Tag Archives: dreams

The Big Picture

I love to plan. It makes the days seem a little easier and the future a bit brighter. Or maybe I should say that I love to dream instead, after all, I have noticed that my plans don’t usually work out very well. But I have seen dreams come true.

There is a saying out there…”people plan, and God laughs.” I think that it more apt to say that, “people plan, and God sighs.” He must just shake His head and wonder why we keep planning and messing things up…we can’t see the BIG PICTURE! He can see our beginning and end, and everything in between. He knows where we are meant to go, but we keep wandering off the path and trying things out on our own. Then when finally we mess it up, we come running back to Him, crying and asking Him WHY???

Why did He let this or that happen? Continue reading The Big Picture

“Too Late”

Do the words, “too late” cross your lips sometimes? You hear of someone doing something exciting…like going back to school, traveling somewhere interesting, or maybe even going on a short term volunteer trip? And you say to yourself, “too late for me”! It’s not too late. I have realized that many people around us are constantly doing new and exciting things. I was 45 when I changed direction in my life and moved to Africa. This was a lifelong dream, one that I never saw coming to fruition. But it did, and I look forward to many new experiences in the years to come. Continue reading “Too Late”

Princess

Not long ago we were flying over Windsor Castle in London. It looks just Iike something out of a fairy tale!! We avidly read the magazines and newspapers to see what the royals are up to. The life of a princess is a fantasy that many grow up with. We read the Disney stories and the romance novels…hoping that someday our prince will come. What happens if he doesn’t? Or you think he does, and he ends up being the opposite of the prince, and doesn’t live up to your fantasies? We all want the fairy tale…at least some version! Continue reading Princess

Standing Apart

The other day I had a high school moment. I said hello to someone and they avoided eye contact and barely spoke to me. There was a sudden feeling of inadequacy that came over me….what did I do? Wasn’t I cool enough? Was she avoiding conversation because I wasn’t invited to something that I knew about? Something I wanted to be invited to? Something the “cool girls” were doing?? I ranted to my husband, poor man. (Here we are, 15 years old again! Haha!)! After a few minutes of rational thinking…it takes awhile…I realized that I had imagined the whole thing!!! But, this experience reminded me of the daily battle of self esteem that we fight.

We all want to be part of the crowd. Standing out is painful and lonely. It invites pity and gossip. But, when you think about it…to do something of significance we need to stand apart from the crowd. We need to follow that path that God has planned for us. He didn’t create us to be lemmings…followers, no matter where the others go. When we go in the direction of God’s will, we will be alone…but, with Him. It won’t be lonely. We can’t be afraid of it. If we are, we can’t do what He has planned for us. Unless we stand apart, we can’t fulfill the secret desires of our heart…those dreams we are scared to pursue.

Every one of us has been created for a reason. There is a great quote by Mark Twain…”The two most important days of your LIFE are the day you were BORN, and the day you find out WHY?” Some of us have a big task ahead, and some of us have many small tasks…all of them significant. God has created us with the specific gifts and talents that we need for those tasks. Whether you have the gift of leadership, hospitality, intercession, or wisdom….whether you are good with music, children, relationships…good with your hands, artistic…these are all gifts you have been given. For a reason. It does no good to wish we had other gifts…it’s a waste of time.

But the biggest waste of time is squelching those dreams in order to be part of the crowd….