Dreams… they start when we’re just small children – wishing for a special toy from Santa, or reading every book you can get your hands on about nursing, or becoming a fireman or detective.
Dreams are what life is made of and what makes life an adventure. Sometimes our dreams are so big they seem almost unreachable – always eluding us – staying just outside of our grasp. Dreams are the wishes and hopes for something not yet achieved, and the passion for something already residing deep in our souls.
Even now at this mature season of my life, I am learning a bit about dreams. I’m learning that they matter. I’m learning that broken dreams – dreams abandoned – can take away a person’s joy and passion for life. And I’m learning that dreams, no matter how big or small, should never be given up.
Dreams are what give us hope when today seems too hard to face, and give us beauty when our current view is bleak. They begin in our hearts because of who God made us each uniquely to be, and are nurtured to reality as we trust in Him and act on those dreams – even the scary ones. We’re never too old to be dreamers. I know that from my own life and the lives of my loved ones.
But dreams start when we are young. I was reminded of that recently when I read an essay from a young teen, Rebecca Erwin, a high school senior who entered her ‘dream’ in an essay contest for a college scholarship. I was blessed enough to be one of the judges for this competition, and when I read Rebecca’s work, I knew I had get her permission to share it with all of you. Here’s what Rebecca wrote:
I want to live. Truly live. None of that suburban housewife, that stereotypical doctor-lawyer-career woman job, that fake smile because my real smile has been lost to the world and to the stress. No. I want life to be difficult, just so I have to work out of it. I want there to be tears, so that my smiles mean more. I want balance.
This is much more than making money in order to pay taxes and then die. This is about adventure. This is about dancing in the rain, running through the mud, staring at the clouds. This is about waking up early for the sunrises, staying up late to catch the meteor showers. This is about rolling in the grass, walking barefoot.
This is about giving more than you get. This is about loving. This is about smiling at the strangers you pass, letting others go ahead of you, paying it forward. This is about saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
This is about daring to skinny dip in the neighborhood pond, daring to wish, daring to show someone you care. This is about no regrets. This is about going to the gaudy raves, the extravagant plays, the stuffy art museums. This is about making fun of the art. This is about making art. This is about blasting the radio with your windows down.
This is about owning it. This is about travel, exploration. This is about dancing. This is about being colorful. This is about not caring, but caring. This is about acceptance. This is about going on the super-steep, super-fast, and super-scary roller coasters. This is about finding a way to skip the line. This is about mystery. This is about road trips, boat rides, and airplanes. This is about shattering expectations.
This is about doing it all. All for the purpose of showing up at the pearly gates of crystal clear heaven so beaten and bruised, dirty and grimy, sweaty and sore and limping, with your palms sweating, hair knotted and tangled, clothes ragged, heart pumping, nostrils flaring, eyes fiery, smile widening and breathlessly whispering… “What a ride!”
A note from the author: “My name is Rebecca Erwin. I recently graduated from Duluth High School. I’m going to Birmingham-Southern College this fall, and I will be playing volleyball and swimming there as well as studying pre-health. I’m thinking of going into the medical field to possibly become an OBGYN and help deliver babies or become a neonatal nurse.”
Never stop dreaming Rebecca! Never stop dreaming Paul, Sarah, Ted! Never stop dreaming – any of you! God gives us dreams – they are His way of nudging us to be all that HE wants us to be! So go ahead… dream. Then don’t be afraid to chase them until those dreams become a reality.
Are you still dreaming – perhaps the same dream you’ve had since your youth? We’d love for you to share it here with us on the JoyBlog! Click on the Comments link at the top of the page. Remember, sharing your dreams with others can help keep them alive in your heart. Go ahead… dream!
