It’s been a month since my last blog post and I’ve had three ideas rolling around in my head for this one. This is the first, get ready for the next two…they’re doozies.
I’ve always been a bit of a dreamer. I’ve always had an active imagination with my head in the clouds with at least one hand reaching up, trying to find a good place to grasp. Let’s face it; most of those dreams haven’t come true…YET.
I remember well an assignment from 8th grade where we were to write a little paragraph about where we saw ourselves in 20 years. I wrote that I would be living on a sheep station in Australia with my husband and our three boys and I was working as a large animal vet. My teacher at the time looked at me after I had read that paragraph to the class and said “Amanda, do you think that is realistic?” For the life of me I couldn’t think of a reason it wasn’t realistic. I was doing well in school (a necessity for anyone wanting to be a vet), knew people from our area that had actually re-located to New Zealand, my cousins who were in the service had visited several different nations. Why couldn’t I? I can say that my dreams have changed and while the idea is still appealing, I know that is not what God has called me to.
My mom was furious both as a parent and an educator, how dare another person dismiss the dreams of a 14 year old!
This happens every day, doesn’t it? The difference is now; it is my own mind that dismisses my own dreams, wishes and hopes for the future. I’ve been conditioned to do so. There are always obstacles that SEEM bigger, better, faster and stronger than I.
During Training Camp while the guys were on their man hike; we ladies had a woman’s retreat. One may think that we sat around sipping wine, eating chocolate and discussing cute boys. That’s not what happened. We did listen to Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber though. We were given the opportunity to sit in on a host of sessions and one that I chose was ‘Daring to Dream’.
We ladies sat in rocking chairs on the sunny side of a Georgia front porch for nearly an hour discussing how God loves us abundantly. How we are co-heirs with Christ, which gives us authority, we are queens.
The desires of our hearts are God given and he wants to fulfill them with us, for us and through us. We’ve been chosen for such a time as this and he knows us better than we know ourselves.
We were given some time to reflect and write down some dreams of our own and then some time to share with the group. As you may imagine, in a group of ladies, a good man was mentioned on the regular. Some women had big dreams for their hometowns, some dream of owning their own business, some had things on their list that would help them in their current situation, gear for the race. We all had a similar thought; we felt or heard God say something along the lines of “Is that all you’ve got?” Some of these things seem impossible to us, but our God is greater than our doubts and the box that we put him in and he is ABLE.
While 20 years has passed since I wrote that paragraph and my dreams have changed I am still in awe of the opportunities that have been granted to me. I HAVE visited Australia, and hope to return. I have been to Haiti, South Africa and Nepal, and next year will have 10 new stamps into my passport. Some dreams come true in ways we never expect because God has different plans for us and they are for the good of his kingdom.
