I’m not quite sure when or how it happened, but sometime between running around with my brothers fighting crime as the power rangers and now I stopped dreaming. I had a great bucket list started (complete with go skydiving, drive a race car and travel to every continent) but when it came to what my future looked like or the things I want to learn or the person I want to become, I had stopped dreaming a long time ago.
Proverbs 29:18 says that “where there is no dream or vision we will perish.” The root of this word has many meanings including unprotected, unready, unteachable, unwilling, and unmotivated; All words that have seemed to cloud my life for many years.
This month, that all changed. I began dreaming again.
Last week, Patty bought a book titled “dream” by Dutch Sheets. When I announced to the house that I needed a book to read, she offered it up for me to read. Early on in his book, Sheets says this:
“God is the Author of your dreams, but you’re an outlet for His.”
An outlet for God’s dreams? You mean to tell me that God is dreaming and using me to fulfill them? (Well, yeah! Duh!) I had never thought of God as someone who dreams through me. When I had stopped dreaming, I did more than put my destiny on hold, I put God’s on hold.
While sitting at a care point, waiting for the kids to finish eating, Meredith told us that the Lord had been speaking to her recently about a “year of exploration.” She explained it as a year in which she didn’t say no to the things she had always wanted to do or learn or try but for whatever reason never did them. This led to our entire team making lists and dreaming about what we would do in our own year of exploration. Here are a few that made my list:
~Take lessons and learn how to west coast swing or swing dance
~Do research in a lab (genetic or biochemistry)
~Blog at least once a week (I never thought that would ever be on a list of mine)
~Find someone in a nursing home (or similar place) to do a puzzle with frequently
~Learn to shoot a longbow
~Floss (No, I don’t floss often now…don’t tell my dentist)
~Have coffee with my Mom weekly (as long as she agrees) 🙂
~Take a photography class
~Be a mentor
I have begun thinking and praying more about what dreams God wants to live out through me. I am not sure all of what God has in mind, but I believe that discipleship of others and short-term missions will be a part of it. For now, I am continuing to dream and placing them in God’s hands.
“Roll your works on the Lord. Commit and trust them wholly to Him. He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and so shall your plans be established and succeed.” (Proverbs 16:3 AMP)
