Of Dreams

Dreams.  We all have them.

I use to have so many dreams.  Horses.  Love.  Marriage.  Children.  Travel.  Writing.  Security.  The list was never ending!

The past few years the idea of dreams has been almost constantly in my thoughts.  God's been sifting my heart and my life, and as a result I've been questioning what place, if any, dreams should hold in my life.

If I say that I want all of me to die and all of Him to live in me, does that mean that my dreams have to die too?  Is it even okay to dream?  What does it mean to dream God's dreams?  How do I know that my dreams are His too, and not just mine?

In the midst of all this, I've let many of my dreams slip away into the background.  I've busied myself with the things of the day, and in turn all but forgotten what those many dreams were.  And yet, I found that no matter what I did, there were burning passions and dreams deep in my heart-of-hearts that could not be stifled or quenched.  Like embers, they remained.  It was like they were waiting for the perfect time to once more burst into flame.  

You see, the thing about dreams is that they're not all bad.  Yes, sometimes they can be selfish.  Sometimes they may be good things, but just not what God has for us at this time...or ever.  But sometimes--just sometimes--they're things that God has placed in our heart and soul for a reason.  We may not understand how they fit into His plan ultimately, but make no mistake...they have a purpose.

Its okay to dream.  It really is!  Those things that stir our very core are there for a reason.  Yet, to fully experience them and see them blossom, we must first lay them at Christ's feet.  We must let them die in Him.  We must trust that, in His perfect timing, the small seed that dies and falls to the ground will sprout and grow into something beyond our wildest imaginings.

And so, I've been digging into the treasure chest of my heart, once more.  I've been rediscovering those many dreams I dreamed.  Some big, some small.  All buried away for a time.

Some of the dreams I dreamed have faded away.  I can hardly remember why I dreamed them in the first place.  Others I've seen bountifully fulfilled.  Still others I'm still waiting on.  The strangest are those dreams that have changed.  They hold glimpses of the old dream, but they have been transformed into something far different...something far better.

You see, that's what happens when we let God have our dreams.  He takes those burning coals, molds them and refines them, and makes them His.  He takes those passions He created in us and uses them for His plan and His glory.

Dream big, little passionate one.  Just don't forget to place them on His shoulders.  He can be trusted.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." ~Jeremiah 29:11