“One thing Ordinary did know for sure: {…} He wouldn’t waste another day waiting for his Dream to seem possible. He would find a way to pursue it.” – Bruce Wilkinson, The Dream Giver
I’ve spent the last couple of days re-acquainting myself with the book, The Dream Giver. The parable in part 1 is certainly something that provokes a lot of thought, at least within myself. I never realized how much I relate to Ordinary until literally 2 nights ago.
You see, I’ve had this dream – a dream that’s been inside of me for as long as I can remember. In fact, I have this childhood story that I like to tell people partly because it’s a comical story that makes them laugh, but mostly because it forces me to remind myself of a Dream that’s been inside me for a long, long time. For most of us, we find it absolutely adorable and common for kids to play “pretend”. It’s like a rite of passage that we all go through, it seems, and as adults we love watching it. Reminiscing of simple days long past. They play house, and doctor, and veterinarian (Doc McStuffins.. hehe), and policeman, and all kinds of normal pretend games. I think it’s fair to say that most kids find their Dream while playing pretend. One day in my mid-20s I was thinking about this – probably shortly after my niece was born, and I couldn’t seem to remember ever playing any of those games when I was a child. My sister liked to play house – she would make pies out of dirt, and take care of her dolls, and things you would expect from ordinary girls. Me, however? Well, as I began to recall some of those distant memories, the pictures and playbacks that eventually came back had a little more of a unique tone…
Suffice it to say that I grew up in a quite lively church environment. Wild shouts, jumping, praising, praying, singing. Definitely a site worth seeing! I remember loving church and being able to watch the big people get excited about Jesus. This spilled into my “pretend” world, as well. Instead of playing the normal pretend games, my world of pretend looked a little more like this – my little brother (and sometimes my sister) and I bouncing around on a bed in our bedroom, playing “church”. We would grab our Bibles and pray over each other in very… errr… lively ways. One particular memory I have is of my brother and I jumping on the bed and slapping each other with what the preachers would call Sweat Rags, and our Bibles, and shouting “Be Healed, in Jesus’ name!!!” at each other. Imagine a little 5 year old boy in nothing but Ninja Turtles underwear, and his 6 year old sister in a long shirt and probably bright pink shorts bouncing around and doing this for what seemed like hours. One would fall over and shout, “Thank you, Lord!” as the other would shout, “Hallelujah!!” Lol. It was quite a site. And even as an adult, I can’t help but smile every time I think about this memory.
Like Normal kids in Familiar I still climbed trees, and played baseball and football with the boys, and scraped my knees while playing tag, but the Dream… the one I pretended about even as a small child was being able to bring freedom and healing to others through the power of Jesus. I never wanted a Usual Job in the land of Familiar. I’ve always known, or felt may perhaps be a better term, that my life would be different. That I was made to be a Somebody and achieve Great Things… just like Ordinary.
Here we are less than 4 weeks from launch, and I’ll be heading out on my biggest adventure to date. The Comfort Zone of Familiar will be behind me, and I’ll enter the vastness of Unknown. A year and a half ago I thought this time would never come. Now, I’m wondering where the time has gone and if I’m truly prepared and ready. The good news is The Dream Giver usually doesn’t call The Prepared, He prepares The Called, and I have nothing to worry about.
Continue to pray for me as this small window of time comes to a close. I covet your support and encouragement as I journey out into the Unknown and begin the adventure of Big Dream.
