Now
all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to
accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ
Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
Dreams, ideas, and plans not only are an escape, they give me
purpose, a reason to hang on.
~ Walt Disney
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up,
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
The
idea of having dreams captures us from an early age. Last week I went to a field trip at the Fire
Station with my daughter who is in kindergarten. One of the firemen asked if anyone wanted to
be a firefighter when they grow up, all the kids raised their hand. He said he had dreamed of being a firefighter
since he was 5 and visited the fire station with his class.
What is
it about dreaming that is so powerful in our lives? I like how Walt Disney noted that his dreams
gave him a reason to hang on! I have
worked with students my whole career and I can see the difference between children
who do not have adults willing to dream for them, and those with parents who have
big dreams for their lives. Everyone
needs someone else to dream for us from time to time, the kids who lack this, “collaborative”
dreaming often do not have a reason to “hang on” when life becomes hard and their dreams die.
They easily lose hope and direction.
The real question is: Are
we dreaming big enough? When Martin Luther Jr.
stated his dream, it gave power to break down years of oppression. People were given a new dream… And our country was changed. Even more than that the doors were blown open
and people were able to dream bigger then they had before.
In this
passage Paul reminds us that God’s plans for us are bigger, even bigger then we
can imagine. I have been told by several
people that they have good jobs and like what they do, but do not feel like they
are doing something that truly matters. What
if we allowed ourselves to live out another dream? What if God's imagination drove our lives, and
we lived out His dreams for us.
I have found that often life sidetracks
our personal dreams and we tend to settle into our lives and our own dreams are
quickly downsized. But, God’s dreams for
us are supersized! I am moving my family
to Honduras, this is not the dream I had for myself and I even had to let go of
some of my dreams. But, God’s dream for
my family ignited my imagination, it gave me a new understanding of the way God has
been directing my life. It was bigger then I could ask or think!
The other reason I believe
understanding why God’s dream for our life is so important is this: I will be serving kids who have lost parents
to dream for them and inspire them.
Serving at the Ranch gives care givers like my family the opportunities to help kids who
may have never had a dream beside survival to learn, seek out, and understand
the things that God is calling them to do.
As I think about our students at the Ranch, I am continually reminded of
the story of Joseph and how his and his father Jacob’s dreams were taken from
him, but God gave him new and bigger dreams.
This is my prayer for my children and all the children at the ranch that God would supersize
their dreams through his mighty power at work within their lives and will accomplish
infinitely more than what they might ask or think!
In a few short months I will get to
live out God’s supersized dream for my life, while getting to inspire God’s
dreams in the lives of these 27+ abandon Children.
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