Gainesville, Georgia
Let me tell you about a young girl. At nine years old she had big dreams and was making even bigger promises. She found herself sitting at the top of a metal slide one day watching the other children playing. There was not an adult in sight as they were all busy touring a nearby building. As the girl watched, she began to ponder the meaning of the title that had been given to these children. Orphan. What exactly did that mean for them? What did it mean to not have a dad or a mom? Who was going to sit these ones on a lap to ask how their day went? Who was going to read them their favorite story or ask them what they wanted for their birthday meal? Who was going to help them with their homework or tuck them in at night? As these thoughts rolled through her mind, a new resolve rolled into the young girl’s heart. She would be the one. She would be the one to kiss them on the cheek. She would be the one to bandage their wounds. She would be the one to let them know that they weren’t alone. An enormous promise was settled in her heart that day. She would be back to love the orphans.
Let me tell you about a young woman. At 18 years old she had big dreams and even bigger resolve. Graduation day was a few short weeks away and she was attempting to set her departure date for the day after. Nothing seemed to be coming together smoothly and stress quickly took the place of excitement. As she sat in her father’s office attempting to smooth out the bumps in her plans, he posed a question that didn’t seem to fit anywhere. “Are you sure this is the right timing?” There wasn’t any room in her plans for this question. She had been waiting for so long already. The children needed her. There was no time to waste. She jumped head first into her own plans and found that it was not at all what she had made it to be in her mind. She returned home after one month hurt and disillusioned.
Let me tell you about a dream. It was a beautiful dream. And it was a specific dream. It had many parts and those parts somehow all fit together. Sometimes one part of the dream would be more evident and sometimes another part of the dream would surface. It looked like a child’s laugh and a young woman’s smile. It looked like the green mountains of Guatemala. It looked like bamboo and mud huts. It looked like the abandoned being found. It looked like the wounded heart being healed. It looked like a life laid down for the sake of love. But in light of failures, this dream seemed too specific. Fear could not handle where this dream may lead. And so it was taken apart. Some parts of it were buried down deep and other parts took on a new look.
Let me tell you about a woman who has taken a journey. She has big dreams and she has been equipped to see those dreams walked out. As she stood on a mountainside watching the clouds roll over the top of a volcano, she reflected on the course of her life. Twenty-one years earlier she had picked up a dream. Twelve years earlier she had let it go. She thought of all that had happened in those twelve years. All the mountains and valleys. All the lessons she had learned. All the places she had placed her feet. And in that moment she realized that she was standing in the perfect place to pick up the dream again–the place where fear no longer had a say. The place where every part of that dream could be a reality.
It is a beautiful journey that the Lord has me on and although it has taken me awhile to get where I am, I wouldn’t change a single part of how He led me here. I’m off to love some hearts and give them the message they’ve been waiting to hear.
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news.
