Always dream in vivid colors is a saying my grandmother would often use to encourage me. Believing in my dreams and daring to dream seemed much easier as a young child than as an adult. Are you looking from a view in your life and wondering what happened to your childhood hopes and dreams? Where did they vanish to? How can you retrieve them again? This summer, I challenge you to awaken these dreams, discover them again and to unleash your potential.
In my early years during the summer months, I spent many days swimming and playing in the water at our cottage. I sat for long hours in our motor boat with my parents and siblings hoping to catch a fish. At night my sister and I would lay out on the front lawn at the cottage and stare up at the starry sky, making wishes, giggling, dreaming, giggling some more and believing in a bright future!
Years later, reflecting on these times, I find my mind wondering back and reminiscing about them. These were truly good times where I did not have a care in the world. I did not have bills to pay, jobs to attend to, a house to clean and a pile of laundry to fold. The only responsibility that I had was to choose which bathing suit to wear and to make sure that I waited an hour after eating before going back into the water to swim (this was always a struggle, as I was so impatient). Good times for sure!
During these younger years on my vacations at the cottage I did a lot of dreaming. I dreamed about my future, what it would be like, where I would attend university, the job I would have, who I would marry, where I would live, how many children I would have and what I would name them.
Years later the hoped for reality that I dreamed for way back then looks very different from this view. I never dreamed that I would end up with some broken romantic relationships. I never dreamed that I would have to go through in vitro fertilization and suffer through the pain of countless miscarriages. I never knew that suffering through infertility would cause such private pain in our marriage causing both my husband and I such grief and sadness.
As I view the life that I have today it is beyond my wildest dreams. I had hoped and dreamed to be a university professor, a writer and an author and I am. I had hoped and dreamed to be married and I am, to Pino. I had hoped and dreamed to be a mom and I am. We have a beautiful daughter Sara. Sara is beyond my wildest dreams. She is the dream child, full of life, laughter and love. God in all of His abundant mercy and grace has granted my husband Pino and I a bubbly bundle of joy wrapped up in a gift named Sara.
Have I stopped dreaming, never! Have I at times stalled in my dreams, absolutely! Have I picked myself up off the ground and started all over again, yes! But I never lost the faith and hope in knowing that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28).
Vacations are great times to dream. This summer encourage your children to dream. Talk about your dreams, about your future plans. Read scriptures with your children and discuss the promises that God has for all of His children, which includes you. Teach your children to dream. Rekindle your dreams. Allow yourself to dream outside of the box called caution.
From this view, I know that God places the dreams within us. He created us in His image to be purposeful and productive on this earth. At the beginning of time, when He set the world clock in motion He breathed life into each human being that has ever lived on this planet or is yet to be born. Found within this breath of life is the blueprint that has the intricate design for your life, your destiny, a destiny filled with hopes and dreams that only you can fulfill. This destiny is beyond your wildest dreams. Hop aboard and begin to dream BIG again, it is your destiny!
If you want to share your dreams or would like to share about your difficulty to dream, please write to me at cheryl@justsaying.today.
