the return to a dream

Sometimes I read things by other authors that I just have to share.  This is one of those times.  Check it out...

Quote from The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson:

 "'A long time ago, I woke up to a Dream, too,'( Ordinary's) Father said.  'And it came with a long white feather.  It was a wonderful Dream.  I kept my feather on my windowsill while I waited for a chance to pursue it.  I waited and waited.  But it never seemed possible... One day I noticed the feather had to turned to dust.'
Of all the sad words Ordinary had ever heard, these were the saddest."

quote from Happily Ever AFter by Kristin Armstrong:

"We have our own foolish measures of protection against disappointment.  We think if we don't react or get too excited about great possibilities, the letdown won't be as hard if things don't work out.  The result is the limitation of our own joy and the reduction of our trust in God.

When we are constant in prayer and get to a deeper place of trust, we know that even if the rug is pulled out from under us, the Lord will grab us just before we fall on our faces.  He will keep us steadfast if we stumble or suffer.  This knowledge adds bravery to our hopefulness.  We begin to try where we would normally hesitate.  We begin to celebrate God's goodness and praise His works without knowing how it all will come together.

Have enough faith to give joy a chance.  Celebrate the possibility."

I love these passages.  In a time where I've felt my dreams were gone forever, I am beginning to feel a tiny spark of renewed hope inside me, like maybe, just maybe, I have the courage to go after my dream after all.  I don't believe God gives us big dreams just for us to set them on a windowsill, to save them for "someday", which inevitably may never come.  Sure, I may fail at them a million times, but I gotta have the courage to go for it anyway.  What do I have to lose?  God has my back.  Like the biblical Joseph who enraged his older siblings by telling them his dreams, I have also suffered my share of teasing and words of discouragement when I would talk about my dreams as a kid.  So I tried to just blend in with my peers, do what brought others success, but guess what?  I was not made like everybody else!  None of us is!  We are each unique, amazing creatures of God, and He gives us a reason for our dreams and passions!!!  No, we can't all be rock stars and headliners in everything we do, but there is something in each of us, a dream, an idea that warms our heart and gives us more than just an adrenalin rush.. it's that peaceful joy of finding our purpose, our flow, our natural rhythm, our original color.  That reason to get up every morning and go carve out an incredible sculpture from the ordinary sands of your hourglass.

ok, enough fluff and rainbows.  I might get too excited, and then the letdown would be too harsh to take. just kidding.  I know the Dream Giver.  He not only has my back, He has my heart.  Thank you, Jesus.