The definition of DREAM: to contemplate the possibility of doing something
When I read that definition, the concept of dreaming doesn’t seem that scary! I mean, it’s just a thought! A possibility! Why not, right?
I purposely wanted to post my last post and this post on the same day. Mostly because I want to show how faithful the Lord is in answering our cries. And to also encourage YOU with what He has shown to ME. My last post was birthed from the pain of losing my job after just getting engaged to James and not knowing what in the world the Lord wanted us to do. I now sit in an apartment in Austin, Texas, we have been married for two months, I have been working at Hill Country Bible Church since September, and I feel incredibly humbled and absolutely overwhelmed by the Lord’s favor. How in the world did this happen?
I think God loves to make examples of us. He does it in Scripture so I think we forget He still does it WITH US today. In my case I hope that people can laugh at my foolishness, that somehow God can use that, too. My disbelief is downright embarrassing at times. He has blown me away with the reality of how He desires to use my life as an example of His power if I will just trust and believe and follow Him. So how did I get here? Well, no matter how disillusioned I seemed, I kept looking for ministry jobs online. And I stumbled on one that sounded like my dream. And James suggested I apply. And we both looked at each other like WHOA. I mean, applying for a job in another state took risk. Sometimes going after a dream seems scary. The possibility takes shape. And then, well, God moved swiftly and I got the job! And then it got real. And it required James and me to bump up our wedding 5 months earlier than planned! It meant no honeymoon right now. It made us trust that James would find a job here, too. It took us 14 hours away from a LOT of people and family that we love dearly. It meant I was moving out of an adorable house with a huge yard and into an apartment where I can hear our neighbors obsession with Daft Punk. It meant being alone, just James and me, in our first year of marriage.
It meant I get my dream.
I am working for an amazing church. I get the job of hanging out with awesome young adult women for a living. I get to meet these ladies for coffee and hear all about their stories and live life with them every single day. I get to laugh and cry with them about real life and how God loves us and teaches us, stretches and prunes us. I get to explore a new amazing city with my husband. I get to watch him go to work every day knowing that the Lord provided him with a job before we even moved here! I get to meet many precious children play outside while I am on my walks with Honey (because we have no yard!). I get the opportunity to trust God with our finances every month. I get to see a lot more rain in Texas (which I LOVE!) I get to stay in touch with all the people I love because technology is fab and always advancing! I get to be a wife! I get to depend on Jesus more than ever before. I get the chance to be NEW!
This post has a much different tone doesn’t it? Because hindsight gives us a lot of answers. The Lord was making me MOVE. And none of that would have happened had He planned my life around my short-sighted agenda. Because of His great love for me and persistence, I get to live my dream.
I don’t think this is always the case, so please don’t read this and think that our theology as Christians should be that we always gets a fluffy rainbow at the end of our pain. I think sometimes God’s best is painful and may not give us the answers this side of heaven. I know that God could still take us somewhere NEW again and I could be writing another painful blog about what I don’t understand.
But what I hope this post does encourage is for us to dream with open hands, even in the midst of our suffering. To trust that God is good. That He gives and takes away because He knows how each one of His children will best come to an active, trusting relationship with Him. A mentor of mine recently reminded me that God is always in the business of doing whatever He has to do to make me more dependent on Him. And He will always do what is best for me because depending on Him is BEST. So dream a little. Even in the midst of your struggle. It could be that your dream will exist because of it.