Dream Like A Little Girl

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!

About the Author :

Jessie Mullins is a happy wife who spends her time writing, reading, and picking up socks from the floor. She also helps lead the youth group at her church. Next she wants to be a mommy, a published novelist, and a mermaid if possible. You can find her on Twitter @Je55ieMullin5.

Obstacles in Our Adventures

 

An adventure isn’t an adventure without obstacles.

That was my mantra this past weekend when I went camping with my hubby. We set out with such hopes for our first camping trip together. We had expectations that can be summed up in a couple words: sun and fun.

As with most things in life, our trip didn’t go as planned. 

 

One of the straps securing our kayak atop our van broke while we were on the highway. We spent an extra hour finding a solution that didn’t involve driving farther without the kayak secured. When we arrived at the campground, we were greeted by rain, and couldn’t get a fire going. Our tent was labeled as able to hold a queen-sized mattress, but with the mattress in, we couldn’t zip the door. Because of that, our sleeping bags got wet in the night. Then there was the outhouse. It smelled so bad that when we left it, we smelled like toilet. All day. I didn’t even remember to bring a hair tie to get my toilet-smelling-hair away from my face.

Whew, that’s a hefty paragraph about the negative! Look at how easy it was to list off all the things that didn’t go right. It doesn’t take much effort to get bogged down in the less than stellar details. 

There were also great things about the trip, though. The rain let up so we could kayak on the beautiful lake. Paddling on the water while my husband fished gave me a lot of uninterrupted time with God. We were able to get a good fire going our second night, and we indulged in gooey s’mores. The most important thing, though, was that we had this time away together. It was genuine fun even if there wasn’t much sun. 

A lot more went wrong than went right, but I can honestly say we still had a good time. Why? Because we chose to. It would have been so easy to call the trip a failure and be grumpy as we sat in the rain trying to keep warm. Instead? We reminded ourselves that we were on an adventure, and it’s not an adventure without obstacles. It was purely up to us how we wanted to act in the face of those hurdles.

I don’t know what’s going wrong in your adventure today. Maybe your obstacles are scarier than our camping mishaps. Just remember this is your story. You’re the protagonist of this great life. You may not have control over all that happens, but you do have control over how you react. It’s okay to acknowledge when your plans go awry, but don’t let your thoughts linger in that place.

 

Train your thoughts and heart on the fact that even when your adventure gets rocky, God promises He’s there by your side (Deuteronomy 31:6). He doesn’t promise we won’t feel the rain (Matthew 5:45). In the midst of the rain, though, He has given us peace beyond understanding (Philippians 4:7), and joy in the midst of sorrow (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

 

Rest in that, adventurer.

About the Author :

Jessie Mullins is a happy wife who spends her time writing, reading, and picking up socks from the floor. She also helps lead the youth group at her church. Next she wants to be a mommy, a published novelist, and a mermaid if possible. You can find her on Twitter @Je55ieMullin5.