Let’s be honest, we all have dreamed at one time or another. Whether it was to be an astronaut, the president, or a princess, as children we believed these lives were our destiny. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood we lost our youthful optimism. As we grow more timid, practical, and jaded in our outlook on life, our dreams become less fanciful and less buoyant. Many people when faced with the stresses and burdens of everyday life quit dreaming altogether. The dreams that remain are often so deep within our consciousness we don’t recognize them. Most adolescent dreams are poured out as a burnt offering to the altars of our fear driven lives. We rationalize away our aspirations telling ourselves let’s be practical here. We look over our shoulder, and see everyone we know to be seemingly content pursuing the things this world claims will make us satisfied.
Maybe childhood dreams are just fanciful manifestations of an overactive imagination. I dreamed of being a ninja and a soldier. I will admit I have no conscious desire to be a ninja or a soldier as of today. However, I do believe there are fundamental qualities about my childhood dreams that apply today. Ninjas and soldiers represent power, respect, and control. In some ways boyhood is the search and discovery of strength and its capacity. We learn we are strong when our father lets us “beat” him in the nightly wrestling matches. We learn strength is a capacity we must respect when we get carried away and hurt a friend. In boyhood, we also learn of the power of our voice and how our manipulation of it can warrant us sympathy, the power of persuasion, or even the approval of others.
I believe a dream deferred decays and rots away our capacity to experience fulfillment and joy in this life. We are all emotional creatures with a desire to make a difference in the world around us. For some that is raising a loving family, for others it is feeding the hungry. What dreams have you given up on? Are your current pursuits what make you come alive? Or are you settling out of fear of inadequacy? I invite each one of you to take a look at your life and ask yourself is what I stand for worth my life? At the end of the day our lives are all we have to give.
I believe God dreamed about us before we were created. I believe dreams are the precursor to a life well lived. Oftentimes I feel unworthy of a life with the Father. When the haziness and doubt settles, I remind myself that God sees me as worthy, worthy enough to have his Son die for me. Our worth was settled at the cross; our self-worth will never add up to the value our Father gave each and every one of us by the substitution of Jesus. You are worthy of living out the dreams the Father placed on your heart. Our dreams are a reflection of who we are, at the end of the day, that’s exactly who we are to be.
What Happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
Like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
-Langston Hughes
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