Ashley’s Journal: I Dream Of Flying
“Every person’s life is a fairy tale written by God’s fingers.” -Hans Christian Andersen
Children love to dream. Their imaginations can soar to endless bounds. Spend any amount of time with a child and you can’t help but be pulled into their universe…into their little world.
For example, children love to play dress up. They have the ability to imagine a life they have never known. A girl loves to pretend she is a beautiful princess that is waiting to be rescued by her handsome prince. She dreams of being a famous movie star or a graceful dancer. A boy loves to pretend he is a courageous solider going into battle. He dreams he is superman, batman, or Hans Solo from star wars. We long to become so much more than what we are. The heart of a child is like a breath of fresh air to those of us who long ago put away such childhood dreams.
Remember when you were a child. What did you want to be when you grew up? When we are little, we tend to think big and grand. We are not content with complacent and stagnate. We always want to continually grow and learn. We want to move to new places and soar to new heights. We want to be something much more than what we are… We dreamed of playing sports. We desired to be rock stars. We couldn’t wait to be much taller or older.
A child does not know their own inabilities, limitations, or weaknesses. It’s easy for a child to believe in Santa Claus, The Tooth Fairy, and even The Easter bunny. A child can believe they have the capacity to fly. They also do not know of evil. Their eyes do not know of malice, envy, greed, or selfish ambition. These things will be taught through out life. And when a child is stifled and is not allowed to play and dream, life, joy and hope will not be found.
We love to dream. Everybody has something that holds great meaning to them. Every person has a passion, something that spurs on ambition and gives us hope for the future. So, what stifles us? What causes us to lose our passion and ambition? What causes defeat to set in? What causes us to stop dreaming? What happens to us when our dreams have been shattered?
I have noticed the older we become the more we are convinced that we have little to offer. Measured against the needs of the world around us, this theory seems right to us. The older we become the more we experience rejection, greed, hate, and envy. People will wound us and we will become bitter. Life experience teaches us that we need to be selfish in order to climb the ladder. Plans will fail. Life will not meet our expectations. Our joys will be taken. Circumstances will beat us down. Our hopes will be deferred. Our dreams will be stolen. Our hearts will be crushed and broken. With each day our dreams will seem farther and farther away, until it becomes dormant. We will let go for many reasons. And there will be plenty of people along the way that will tell us “There’s no hope and no way to accomplish that.” It just simply seems too BIG & impossible to reach.
God is the maker of all dreams and He places them in our hearts for a reason-to realize we are meant for so much more than what we see. We are meant to make a difference. Does this mean that the Lord will bring us great fame, wealth, and personal success along the way? No, it does not. Often times our ideas of wealth and success are much different than the Lord’s and usually it will benefit us. But we are meant to live out the calling He places on our lives. We are meant to experience the life, love, joy, peace, and freedom that comes from Him. We are meant to give to the poor and hungry. We are meant to be loving and forgiving. We are meant to be compassionate and kind. We are meant to point others to Jesus Christ.
Dreams are God’s way of placing hope into our hearts for greater things to come. Certainly, not every dream we have through out our lifetime will be a dream that is meant to come true. But for every dream we have whether BIG or small- is a dream that must be placed in The Creator’s hands.
Surrender. I know within The Church we hear this word. But it is monumental in our relationship with God and not a one time only agreement between us and our Creator. It’s a daily process of laying ourselves at His feet. One that through out our journey will be born out of struggle but the end result producing freedom. We will want to close our fists and hold onto our very life with everything we are. We will try to keep life going in the direction we think is right. We will want to fight. It’s in the midst of the fight and the struggle, God will call our names and beckon us to let go. It’s in the midst of the struggle and the fight that we may find our greatest purpose.
I have learned that each day God beckons me to let go a little more. Some days it is easier than others. In those days when I become discouraged and start to question the goodness of God, I realize that the reason God has us surrender our dreams is because our dreams are usually for us. I am one who has seen dreams, visions, and desires come to fruition. I have experienced so much fulfillment and joy in it. But I am also one of those who has seen dreams die without resurrection. It’s painful to watch a dream die, almost as if I am watching a piece of myself become buried with it, but it’s these precious moments I choose embrace. These are the moments when I am the most humble, lacking my pride. When I am the most open and vulnerable to the Lord and His will for my life, not concerning myself with my own will. But I am most convinced it’s when I am the most lacking of “self.” Just like the Apostle said,”This is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines.” (John 3:30 MSG)
It is easy to become consumed with my own wants, desires, and sense of importance. The older I become, the more sense of entitlement I feel towards the Lord. It is easy, but most assuredly not the way God intended us to be. I will admit that many times my dreams have been for myself. I can be so quick to raise the Christian banner over my head, all the while in my heart having selfish intent. It has been one of my greatest struggles through out my journey with God.
Whether young or old, there is always something fresh and new that God wants birth in your life. God wants our dreams to be for Him and His glory. The choice will always remain with us. You must make decide between trying to make a difference on your own and placing what little you are and have into God’s hands and expecting him to make a difference in you and through you. He knows where you are. You are exactly where you are suppose to be. And even if you have drifted slightly from His path, He will make the needed adjustments to lead you back.
If you had no limits and there was nothing to hold you back, what would you accomplish? What would you want to become?
“With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20 )
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24)