A word on dreams

I've been thinking a lot about dreams lately. Not the kind of dreams you have when you are sleeping (I don't ever remember those anyway), but the kind you have in waking hours. The stuff that gets your heart pumping and your feet moving. When I graduated with my Master's degree I threw a big party, one of the attendees gave me a book called, "The Dream Giver." I'd never been fond of the author, but I read it anyway. It was a book and I like to read. It turned out to be life changing. The Dream Giver (God) has given every Nobody (us) a big dream (a purpose). I believe that to the core of my being. God put each of us on earth to fulfill a purpose. In the story, a Nobody named Ordinary goes on an adventure to pursue his big dream and overcomes many obstacles along the way; it is a journey of faith, ambition, and hope. These days I feel a lot like Ordinary. I have a big dream stirring in my soul with few details to go on and plenty of obstacles to overcome. I wish we all had Paul's Damascus road experience where God comes down in a light, stops us in our tracks and says, "here's what I want from you." That hasn't ever happened in my life. Rather, I'm given little hints, quite promptings, guidance that seems to come in whispers. It takes tremendous faith to take the next step.

The journey toward my big dream began on my first trip to India. That step of faith produced the start of an orphanage, delivery of medical supplies for a clinic that helps thousands and will likely grow in to a hospital/clinic in the next five years, a leadership/pastor training institute, and visits to the other side of the world leading groups at least twice per year. That's huge! Many of you probably think this is the destination of my big dream, but its not. I feel a stirring in my soul that it is just the start of something bigger (isn't that scary!). There are days when I want a normal life and a normal job, but I'm not cut from that mold and know that in the end I would feel imprisoned by that choice. I recently read the following story and found it inspiring. I thought I'd share...

Dreams

Knowing when to keep pursuing a dream and when to accept an alteration to your dream is not always an easy task. Jack Canfield tells about a young high school student whose father was a horse trainer. Because the family had to follow the horseracing season, the young boy was required to change schools throughout the year. During his senior year, he was asked to write a paper about what his dreams for the future were. The paper described his dream of owning a 200-acre horse ranch with stables, tracks and a 4,000-square-foot home. He even drew a diagram of the property and the design of his house. Two days after he had turned in his paper, it was returned to him with an "F" on the front and a note to see the teacher. After class, the teacher explained to the boy that his dream was "unrealistic." The teacher said that if the boy rewrote the paper with a much more realistic dream, he would reconsider the grade. The boy went home and asked his father what to do. "It's your decision," said the father. The boy kept the paper for a week and then returned it to his teacher after class. "Here," the boy said, "you can keep the 'F' and I'll keep my dream."