Have you ever wanted to know the future? In some ways it sounds like and interesting thing to venture into and at other times it might seem the most scary thing to know. Think about it, to know the future and be able to adjust it or change it would be one thing, but to just know it and not have the ability to do something about it is an altogether different proposition.
I often have heard people say, “If I had it to do over again, I would do that differently.” But that’s the past. All of us have had things in our past we would like to change. But what about changing our future?
Looking ahead to the future has it’s exciting side to it. It’s called dreaming. What do you dream for your life? I think that we could gain great insight into this by watching children. Children have dreams and aspirations. I don’t know their secret, but they are always dreaming. Just watch their eyes light up as they talk about being a fireman, a nurse, or whatever they are dreaming. Their body language and voice all give off this confidence that says, “This is going to happen for me.”
I don’t know what it is as we grow up, but somehow we lose some of that aspiration. We call it “reality” that has “set in.” Does reality have to “set in?” I don’t think so. I think that one of the things that separate people who do great things from those who don’t is the ability to “see” the future through dreaming. People who don’t look into the future and dream look at those who do and sarcastically proclaim them “dreamers.”
Some might think of dreaming as a waste of time. Some may say that if the dreamer dies having not realized his dreams, then he lived in vain. I disagree. It very well could be that those who stop dreaming think they’ve arrived. Maybe they have tried dreaming and failed. Whatever the case, I see people who have lost their dreaming ability as a sad lot. I don’t dislike them, but I feel sorry for them.
As a husband, father, preacher, or whatever I am to anyone else, I pray that I never lose the ability to dream. It’s the first requirement of a good leader. How can we take people into places they’ve never ventured for their good if we don’t dream, test the waters, and try new things? It’s just not possible.
We have to remember that, as Christians, God is ever working in our lives to bring about His dreams for us. We must allow Him to work. The Message paraphrase puts Ephesians 3:20 this way: “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” When we dream along with God’s will in our lives, there’s no telling what He can do with that kind of willing heart.
No matter what the dream, don’t give up on it. I may die and never see my dreams come true, but if that be the case, I’ll be able to say that I died dreaming, hoping, and aspiring for what God could do in me.
Many of you sports fans remember the famous “Jimmy V Speech.” On March 4, 1993, Jim Valvano was awarded the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the first annual ESPY Awards. I remember watching this and could not hold back the tears. In his acceptance speech he made the following statements that will serve to end this blog.
“I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get you’re emotions going. To be enthusiastic every day and as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm,” to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems whatever you have. The ability to be able to work hard for your dreams to come true, to become a reality.”
Keep dreaming!!
