To make your dreams come true, it’s up to you…

dreams

“If it’s to be it’s up to me.”

I know that as a Christian this quote isn’t exactly right. But there’s a lot of truth in it. Other than the fact that indeed, we must line up our dreams and plans and goals with God’s purpose for our lives, no one is going to make sure we hit the mark but ourselves.

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Six years ago I decided to pursue two life-long dreams. To continue my college education and write books. Since then, neither of those dreams dissipated. And now I find myself in the middle of one of the hardest parts of the journey physically for me: student teaching and editing a book I’ve sold to ready it for publication.

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During my journey to today, no one ever asked me if I had my homework done or if I had written anything each day. No one pushed me out of bed in the mornings after staying up until two or three in the morning. No one made my tea or asked me if I was making my deadlines.

I had to learn to say no in order to say yes to my dreams. Saying no is hard for me. As a pastor’s wife, I’ve been conditioned to worry about what other people think. I’ve still not mastered the concept of forging ahead without a thought to others’ opinions, but I’m getting better. I mean, sometimes it’s good to hear other opinions about things. I’m still figuring out when to listen and when to tune out.

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The point is this. More than likely no one has a passion for your dream like you. No one wants it as bad as you do. And you’ve got to muster up all the courage you can to climb that mountain and reach the top. It’s called ambition. And its cohort is grit.

You can do this dream thing. But be prepared to encourage yourself a lot. Be prepared to forge ahead when others wish you’d just slow down and take a breather. When your friends look at you funny because you need to stay in and write or study instead of going to the game or out for a night on the town, you can have the backbone to know that you’re in a different season than they are. You’re in the season of mountain climbing, and you need to suck up all the oxygen you can.

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You can do this. Dreaming is a solitary thing. And sometimes, making dreams come true is solitary, too. But as Christians, we’re never alone. Isn’t that wonderful? Imagine having to do it alone. We don’t have to. We have the Great Teacher with us and in us. We have the mind of Christ. We have someone Who never leaves us nor forsakes us.

Give Him your dreams and He’ll help you carry them. He’ll even carry you when you’re too tired to take another step. Ask me how I know.

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Comments 2

  1. God has a purpose for our lives?

    If you look at a human’s anatomy, what does it seem like we’re optimized for?

    I don’t think there is an objective purpose in life that is different than any other animal. Have kids.

    You mentioned that “As a pastor’s wife, I’ve been conditioned to worry about what other people think.”

    We have a little phrase, “think for yourself.”

    1. Post
      Author

      Hi, Shilvio! I’m so glad you stopped by to read and share your thoughts. While our bodies are indeed optimized for reproduction, I believe we are more than a physical body. Our spirits are living and breathing, too. We are spirit beings using these bodies while we’re on the earth. We are created in the image of God.

      English Standard Version of the Bible:
      “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27.

      1 Corinthians 15:50 (ESV): “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”

      Our bodies don’t last forever but our spirits do. I think that’s amazing and wonderful.

      As for thinking for myself, you’re right. And I do! God doesn’t want us to check our brains at the door. He wants us to reason and wonder and study to learn Who He is.

      Isaiah 1:18 says:
      “Come now, let us reason[a] together, says the Lord:
      though your sins are like scarlet,
      they shall be as white as snow;
      though they are red like crimson,
      they shall become like wool.”

      This is how Christianity is taught. The Apostle Paul, who wrote 2/3 or the New Testament, was keen on teaching the Jews in the Synagogue about Jesus by reasoning with them:

      “And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.'” — Acts 17:2 & 3, ESV.

      It’s not thinking for yourself or asking question that’s the problem for most people. The problem comes when people don’t want to listen to the answers.

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