When you deal with as many health problems as I have, you tend to stop being a dreamer.
My heart hesitates to dream because it is afraid that those dreams will fall through the cracks any day.
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Why dream, when dreaming hurts?
When I was a little girl, I dreamed of becoming a ballerina. I know most girls dream of this when they are young, but I really wanted to be one. Dance was my life and love until I was fourteen. Then I became sick. My body was so weak that dance became a distant memory. It was heart wrenching for me to watch that dream slowly slip away, leaving me scared and empty. What was my purpose now?
I didn't know it at the time, but God had something else planned for me to dream about.
Over a year later I was digging through the closet in my mom and dads bedroom, (We were just going through things trying to be free of the clutter) but while I was digging, I found something that I didn't expect to find: a dream.
From out of the clutter and mess, I found a small guitar. No one, not even my mom, knew where that guitar had come from, and looking back now I think God placed it there miraculously. When I lifted out that guitar from its case, I felt my breath catch in my throat and (strange as it may sound) I could feel that guitar calling me.
I needed to play that guitar!
After that, I began playing that guitar practically non stop for the next year. By the end of that year, I went into a guitar store to buy guitar picks and came out with a brand new guitar in my hand and a smile on my face.
I was a musician now!
As much as I had loved dancing, I began to love music even more. I realized that I had been loving music all along and now I had been given the gift of making music. Yes, my dreams had changed, but I began realizing that that dreaming wasn't a waste of my time and my heart, but simply the prayer all dreamers pray.
In the Wizard of Oz movie, Dorothy sings the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow. This song express' her dreams completely. It is as if she is praying, casting her dream into the world, and hoping that it will come true. Dorothy had no idea that it would take a tornado, a witch and three strange companions to get where she needed to be, which just happened to be home: the place she hated at the beginning. But Dorothy wasn't the same girl anymore.
Dreaming changes us as well as our lives.
I learned a lot from dance. Not just life skills, I learned about myself. Because whether those dreams come true or not, they change us and help us grow. More often than not, God uses our experiences to prepare us for something in the future.
We need to see that our dreams are prayers.
Paul said, in 1 Thessalonians 3:10- "(and we) continue to pray especially and with most intense earnestness nigh and day that we may see you face to face and mend whatever may be imperfect and lacking in your faith."
This verse is talking about a dream, but because we have the word pray in it, we don't it as a dream.
Paul dreams about coming back to the Thessalonians and building them up in Christ. This desire or dream is something Paul is passionate about, otherwise he wouldn't pray it night and day. We also can see from Paul's life that sometimes Paul's desire or dream didn't come true because God had bigger plans.
Our goals and dreams are ideas of what we desire to happen, just as our prayers are. Dorothy didn't know how her dream would come true and neither do we.
Next time you are dreaming, or the next time you are praying, lift those dreams up to God. Jesus isn't the crusher of your dreams, Jesus is the creator of those dreams. That desire is real and He wants to hear about your dreams and be your partner in this thing called life. He is on your team!
Our dreams aren't just about a destination. Our dreams are a journey. Maybe we have to go through a life 'Tornado' before we can get to where we need to be. But be sure of this:
Over a year later I was digging through the closet in my mom and dads bedroom, (We were just going through things trying to be free of the clutter) but while I was digging, I found something that I didn't expect to find: a dream.
From out of the clutter and mess, I found a small guitar. No one, not even my mom, knew where that guitar had come from, and looking back now I think God placed it there miraculously. When I lifted out that guitar from its case, I felt my breath catch in my throat and (strange as it may sound) I could feel that guitar calling me.
I needed to play that guitar!
After that, I began playing that guitar practically non stop for the next year. By the end of that year, I went into a guitar store to buy guitar picks and came out with a brand new guitar in my hand and a smile on my face.
I was a musician now!
As much as I had loved dancing, I began to love music even more. I realized that I had been loving music all along and now I had been given the gift of making music. Yes, my dreams had changed, but I began realizing that that dreaming wasn't a waste of my time and my heart, but simply the prayer all dreamers pray.
In the Wizard of Oz movie, Dorothy sings the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow. This song express' her dreams completely. It is as if she is praying, casting her dream into the world, and hoping that it will come true. Dorothy had no idea that it would take a tornado, a witch and three strange companions to get where she needed to be, which just happened to be home: the place she hated at the beginning. But Dorothy wasn't the same girl anymore.
Dreaming changes us as well as our lives.
I learned a lot from dance. Not just life skills, I learned about myself. Because whether those dreams come true or not, they change us and help us grow. More often than not, God uses our experiences to prepare us for something in the future.
We need to see that our dreams are prayers.
Paul said, in 1 Thessalonians 3:10- "(and we) continue to pray especially and with most intense earnestness nigh and day that we may see you face to face and mend whatever may be imperfect and lacking in your faith."
This verse is talking about a dream, but because we have the word pray in it, we don't it as a dream.
Paul dreams about coming back to the Thessalonians and building them up in Christ. This desire or dream is something Paul is passionate about, otherwise he wouldn't pray it night and day. We also can see from Paul's life that sometimes Paul's desire or dream didn't come true because God had bigger plans.
Our goals and dreams are ideas of what we desire to happen, just as our prayers are. Dorothy didn't know how her dream would come true and neither do we.
Next time you are dreaming, or the next time you are praying, lift those dreams up to God. Jesus isn't the crusher of your dreams, Jesus is the creator of those dreams. That desire is real and He wants to hear about your dreams and be your partner in this thing called life. He is on your team!
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart."-Psalm 37:4.
Our dreams aren't just about a destination. Our dreams are a journey. Maybe we have to go through a life 'Tornado' before we can get to where we need to be. But be sure of this:
Jesus will be there every step of the way; molding us and shaping us and our dreams!
If your anything like me, maybe you need a little help in just how do I bring my dreams to God through my prayers. Here's a little exercise:
Write down all your dreams or goals on a piece of paper, leaving a bit of room between each.
Then pray. If your someone who needs a physical action. Hold the piece of paper and as you pray, let the paper fall from your hands to your lap, so you are no longer physically clinging to them.
Ask God to help you accomplish what dreams or goals He wants you to accomplish.
Also, ask Him to change your heart and help you to let go of the dreams that may be holding too tightly.
Ask God to help you accomplish what dreams or goals He wants you to accomplish.
Also, ask Him to change your heart and help you to let go of the dreams that may be holding too tightly.
Finally ask Him for wisdom or insight in what steps you need to take in order to accomplish each dream. When He gives you any thoughts or ideas (and I know He will), write them down in the empty spots we left on the sheets.
If you are unsure whether you can trust God with your dreams and your heart, keep this poem in mind.
Can your trust in the One who loves you?
Can you hope in the One who cares?
Trusting in the One beside you,
Knowing He is always there
Your heart knows the answer
It's as clear as a rainbow's beams
You would trust Him to the end
With all your hopes and dreams
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