Take a deep breath and think back to when you were the little girl in a pretty princess dress who wanted to rule a kingdom. Or were you the little girl in overalls covered in mud from head to toe, dreaming about running a horse ranch? Maybe you wanted to grow up to be a dinosaur. Who knows? Do you remember having huge (sometimes unrealistic) dreams?
What about now? Wherever you are in life, do you dare to dream today?
As we grow, the things we want change. That’s a part of life as we learn
who we are and what we’re capable of. There’s nothing wrong with letting go of
your princess dreams in lieu of becoming a nurse or a mom or a banker.
Realistically, we can’t all be royalty. Not all of us are Kate Middleton.
Likewise, not all of us can be dinosaurs. Okay, so no one can...
Why have your dreams changed, though? Let’s take a quick quiz. Choose the
motive that best matches yours.
You wanted to own a horse ranch, but you let go of that dream
because...
A) You are expected to do something else.
B) It doesn’t seem realistic or attainable because you don’t have the
money, location, etc.
C) You’ve discovered you’re a math nerd, and love accounting way
more.
D) You are afraid to try because you don’t know how to get there OR because
you don’t want to fail or feel rejection.
If you chose C, cool. Get your nerd on. Rock that math.
If you chose any other answer, and you know your Daddy is King, then you
are officially out of excuses. I mean that in the most loving way
possible.
If you chose A, that means you’re living your life based on expectations
from society, family, friends, your dog, etc. Why is this not okay? God directs
your steps (Proverbs 16:9). Your Father has plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11). It’s
the Creator of your beautiful life you should listen to–not anyone else.
Sometimes God asks us to do things that are wisdom to Him, and foolishness to
the world, so people won’t always understand.
If you chose B, you might lack faith that God is Jehovah Jireh, which means
Provider. Not only does He has every resource at His disposal (1 Corinthians
10:26), but He works everything together for us (Romans 8:28)! It can be hard to
imagine what He’s up to because we often focus on what’s in front of us. There
is a whole spirit realm we can’t see. We’re also unaware of the intertwining
steps in other people’s lives. We need to have faith He’s at work even when we
don’t see a hint of it. It might take a while for you to see the results, and
that’s okay. If God has planted a desire in you, don’t let circumstance keep you
from believing that dream is for you.
For those of you who picked D, read B because much of it applies to you.
It’s completely legitimate to fear failure and rejection. We’ve all experienced
it haven’t we? We tried something new, we messed up, and it didn’t feel great.
Someone ridiculed us for it. Someone scoffed at our ideas and made us feel
small. Remember this, though: “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”
Romans 5:8. So what if you do fail along the way? So what if people make fun of
you? They might think they can touch you, but truly, they cannot. Matthew 4:13
empowers us. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” All
things! You so have this.
I’m talking about way more than career choice here. I’m talking about any
sort of dream a woman can have. Your dreams can be about the man you will marry.
Or about seeing your marriage renewed to what it once was. You might dream of
healing. Or of finally trying community theater even though you’re shy.
How do you know your dream is from God? John and Stasi Eldredge put it best
in their book CAPTIVATING.
“You will find that as God restores your heart and sets you free, you will
recover long-lost passions, long-forsaken dreams. You’ll find yourself drawn to
some vision for making the world a better place. Those emerging desires are
invitations–not to rush out and attempt them immediately. That also is naive.
They are invitations to bring your heart to your Lover and ask Him to clarify,
to deepen, to speak to you about how and when and with whom. We love Frederick
Buechner’s description as he writes, ‘The place that God calls us is that place
where the world’s deep hunger and our deep desire meet.’”
I encourage you to let that daring little girl out. Let
dreaming-little-girl-you and wise-growing-woman-you occupy the same space. Throw
your wild ideas and desires to God and see Him take off running with them in one
hand and you in the other.
If we believe in a huge, miraculous God, we need to also believe He can do
huge, miraculous things with us. After all, He calls us the salt and light of
the world. Go lead flavorful, shiny lives!
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