Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day!
***
I am a dreamer.
Not la-dee-da-head-in-the-clouds unfocused dreamer, but a dreamer that loves envisioning new milestones in life and accomplishing goals.
I love the feeling of flying high when I reach a seemingly impossible dream. You know the feeling. On-top-of-the-world-shout-it-from-the-rooftops kind of joy.
Dreaming is fun. Encouraging. Uplifting. And if our dreams bring glory to God (which most of them should), dreaming is a holy experience.
We might think that when we fall short of our dreams that it is a completely heartbreaking, negative experience.
But believe it or not, not reaching our dreams can also be a holy experience.
Because dreams don’t always die. If they are truly dreams from and for God, our dreams go to rest.
And where do our dreams go to rest? They are commissioned into God’s hands.
This year has been a year of God-sized dreams. Fitness dreams. Running dreams. Writing Dreams. Financial dreams.
I have been blessed to achieve some of these dreams in 2014– and others have been laid to rest.
In a past life, before walking with Jesus, I would have been crushed with the incompletion of my heart dreams. But as I have grown closer to Christ, I trust Him more. In turn, instead of being overcome with sorrow, I am filled with peace, trusting the Lord that if He wants these dreams back on the table, He is the one who will put them into motion.
This year, I have become a runner (much to my complete surprise!) I have progressed from not being able to run a full mile to rocking a 10K and completing a half-marathon. My achieving nature was ready for the next huge goal. But I put the dream to run a full marathon this year to rest. It was just too much on my plate to train and I wasn’t about to run at the expense of my relationships, personal sanity or connection with God. I laid that dream to rest, commissioning it into God’s hands.
“Getting my teeth fixed” has been on my bucket list since its inception 11 years ago. This year, I was able to fix all of my genetically annoying cavities then went to an orthodontist consult to get a plan for braces in place. But after they told me that my insurance would cover ZERO for braces, that it would cost close to a new-to-us-smallish-car, and they wanted me to have jaw surgery on top and bottom for cosmetic purposes I laid that dream to rest right there, with a disappointed yet eventually at-peace heart.
I recently received my first real “No” from a legit-named publisher regarding my book. Did it hurt my heart? Yeah, a little bit. But I peacefully laid that dream (with that publisher) to rest and am moving forward with Jesus holding my hand.
We don’t always have to achieve our dreams to rejoice. Sometimes we rejoice when they go to rest.
Our dreams, big, small and in between don’t die… But they rest in God’s hands.
God is in charge of my dreams… and of my everyday.
So maybe today, He just wants us to rest.
Do you have dreams that have been laid to rest (temporarily or more permanently?) What are they? How does that make you feel? Join the conversation by leaving a comment below.
All of these experiences, the yes-dreams and the rest-dreams have significantly contributed to my One Word for 2014 of Grow.
As we grow, we get to know Christ even more. And that is a dream come true.
So let us rest peacefully in our dream of growing toward Jesus in our everyday.
Resting Everyday In Him,
“We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” ~Romans 5:5 NIV
Loading InLinkz ...
