Are Your Dreams Big Enough?

“It’s better to strive for greatness and fail
then aim for mediocrity and achieve it.”

On one hand, I want to whine and complain that I’m barely hanging on and scraping by in the world yet, on the other hand, it seems I’ve gotten exactly what I’ve asked for.

“You have not, because you ask not…?”

How many of us started out having bigger than life dreams only to find out years later, that we settled for something completely different then what we ever imagined in the beginning?

Sometimes this is great and a real blessing in disguise, because we encounter and even better dream on the way to our original one.

But, sometimes life just has a way of doing that if we let it… Of shrinking our dreams… Of unknowingly bringing us to a place of mere mediocrity and acceptance.

Is Your Aim High Enough?

I didn’t realize it, but my dreams were knocked down to the point that they all shriveled up. Somewhere deep inside there must have been a speckle of hope still, because once in a while I’d try to reach out again, but for the most part… Much of my faith and belief somehow dried up during the journey over these last couple of years.

I’ve felt called to do certain things and follow a certain path ever since I was a teenager and I had the dreams to match it. These big, beautiful, wonderful dreams!

Then life happens in a million different ways… Perhaps we get derailed, life becomes too busy, or we lose hope and just give up. Maybe fear has gripped us so tightly that we can’t imagine anything different anymore. Or perhaps there were so many people who told us we couldn’t do it, that we started to believe the lies ourselves. Sometimes though, we simply forget… We forget what our dreams even were or worse yet, we just forget how to dream.

The Challenges of Dreaming

Our ability to dream or not to dream seems to be tied directly into our self-esteem and self-worth. For, if we don’t believe we’re deserving of anything better, we’re bound to stay glued right where we’re at, accepting a life of mediocrity and sometimes… even less than that. When we expect so little from ourselves, then we naturally expect little from those around us as well, and ultimately we get very little out of life.

So, my dreams have been tied into what my view of humility is supposed to look like. We’ve already established that my personal view of being humble is a bit skewed, so I’m working on changing that, because being a good person does NOT mean that we are to be self-sacrificing to the point of our own detriment! Plus, I never really understood how we must first take care of ourselves in order to better take care of others either, because I always seemed to have enough to give no matter what! (Until 40 years later that is, when I hit the burn out stage and God had to remind me once again that I am NOT super woman, lol!) Just like everything else in life though, there is a balance to be found. That means it’s OK to dream big and to believe that God wants good things for us too friends!

In fact, the bible is all about how much God loves us and all the good He wants for our lives! And we have a choice regardless of how we FEEL, about whether or not we’re going to CHOOSE to believe those things or not, versus what the world and many negative voices in our head would have us believe instead.

The Journey of Our Dreams

And perhaps the greatest challenge some of us have in making our dreams come true isn’t about our self-worth or self-esteem at all, but rather in having to play ‘the waiting game.’ We must remember that everything happens in His timing and not ours, which requires an enormous amount of patience sometimes. Once we recognize this as a part of the preparation or training process though, it suddenly becomes an exciting and interesting part of our journey, because we realize we can become active versus passive in the pursuit of our own dreams! For, being patient isn’t an excuse for being lazy or not doing our part in getting where we want to go.

The point is… Never to give up on your dreams and know that you’re never to old to dream either. I’m a prime example that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what the odds are… It is possible to accomplish anything you want to in this life, because we are NOT a product of our circumstances, but of our choices.

And then there’s God…
He, who seems to have bigger plans for us than we could even imagine…
If only we dare to believe!

So, let’s learn to enjoy the journey friends ~ the process, the refining, the work that God is doing in our lives in order to shape us, so that He can use us where and how He wants (even though it’s often times the most painful) ~ Because that really is the most important part.

“The highest reward for man’s toil
is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it.”
~John Ruskin

Soul Seeds…

Life just has a way of just slipping by and getting away from us if we let it. Therefore, it’s important we learn how to make ALL of our time count as much as possible, because we never really know how much we have. I believe the way we accomplish this is by learning how to live each day INTENTIONALLY with passion, purpose and persistence! In doing so, may we find ourselves living, loving, dreaming and believing to our fullest extent and just watch what God will do!

“There is no passion to be found playing small;
In settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living!”
~Nelson Mandela

……On A Personal Note……

Personal Note:  So, many of you know something’s up when I’ve gone silent here for so long. Know that we’re safe and all is good. We had a major crisis and then a tragedy to deal with during the past 3 months, but God’s been super busy making good come from all of it, so I can’t wait to share more of the blessings with you, as a result of the struggles. Also, you’ve been watching me try to break out of this mold for 5 years now, and it’s finally happening, so if you’re new to this site… Please don’t judge me by the chapter you walked in on. I’ve been feeling a bit schooled lately, which is all good, but please be patient because God’s not done with me yet. My time in the desert is finally over and it’s exciting stuff, but it can be a struggle as we learn how to ‘come into our own’ sometimes. I couldn’t be more happy or grateful to finally find leadership and groups to be with though who are so supportive and encouraging of one another. It’s been a long time waiting! Time to let HIM mold, shape and use me however “He” sees fit, because I didn’t realize how much “I’ve” been standing in the way still. Hugs friends! ღ