What dreams are hidden in your heart? I dare you to find out . . .
Dare to Dream—Part 1
I imagine my face must glow when I talk about my latest writing projects. Looking back, I often wonder what took me so long to realize I wanted to become a writer. I’ve always loved reading and creating stories in my mind. During my childhood summers when my friends were at the lake, I spent my time in the library. That should have been my first clue. Looking back now, I can clearly see hints of the dreams God placed deep inside me.
It wasn’t until I was married with three small children scurrying around my feet that I realized God created me with specific talents. (Talents that play a part in His purpose for my life.) But the contentment I feel when I use my talents and follow my dreams is uncommon in many people today, including some of my closest friends.
One afternoon I saw a wistful look in my friend, Stacey’s, eyes as she squeezed a few minutes out of her busy day to talk with me over a glass of tea. “I wish I had something of my own,” this mother of three small boys confessed. “Some type of special purpose that I knew was from God.”
As Stacey spoke, I squinted and looked closely. I’m sure that behind her baby food stained T-shirt I saw something. Yes, she did have something of her own. Stacey’s heart was filled with dreams lying dormant, waiting to be awakened.
Sometimes we, like Stacey, don’t even know our dreams are there. We feel incomplete but don’t understand why. Other times the fulfillment of our dreams is stunted by outside factors—not enough time, not enough energy, and too many duties filling up our days.
But most of all we just need permission. Permission to slow down. Permission to discover our deepest purpose. And permission to follow those dreams.
My dreams for the future are tied with my dreams at night. I dream entire novels, characters, places, and names. Things I’ve never seen and places I’ve never been. I wake up and write them down with the intent of working them into entire novels. But I stopped writing my first one a couple years ago, and I feel stuck until I finish that first one. And I’m so afraid that if I finish it and try to actually publish it, it will be just a dream, and I’ll be hurt and rejected and lost without any more dreams. I feel stuck.