Dream a little dream
October 15, 2007A few weeks ago Northway kicked off Connection Groups…aka small groups of people with something(s) in common who get together once a week and talk about the stuff our Pastor talks about on the weekend. Once of the questions given to us for discussion was “What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?” In other words - what’s your dream in life? As a follow up, we were asked to list three things that fell into that category, and throw them out to the group as goals we would work toward within the next year. We all had such a hard time with it, we agreed to take the challenge home and come back with our dreams/goals and share them with the group.
Sounds pretty easy, right? WRONG! I had such a hard time! Right up until the drive to our connection group the next week, I was stressing and struggling trying to put something down on paper. I’d think of a “dream” and immediately shoot it down…that’s too far-fetched…that’s unrealistic…I don’t want to be held accountable to try and go for that! As I struggled with this exercise something dawned on me…I was a horrible dreamer! I was so quick to stifle my own creativity and ambition. I was boxed in by practicality, roped in by routine. What happened to the little girl who wanted to be an astronaut? a movie star? a UN ambassador? a novelist? a CEO?
I’m still struggling with this but I’m learning how to dream again. I believe God uses people who have big dreams to do big things for him. Why would I want to rob myself of that?
If I’ve learned anything in my new job, it’s this: GO FOR IT. My job can be scary, uncomfortable, awkward and intimidating. Sometimes I get an opportunity and totally blow it, and I walk away thinking (or sometimes muttering under my breath) “that totally sucked.” So now I walk in with that in mind and my new motto is “What’s the worst that can happen?” Being ignored or rejected by a doctor? NO! The worst thing that can happen is walking away with regret because I didn’t go for it! I HATE walking out thinking “I totally blew it in there” but even on my worst day, I don’t regret going for it and being blown off or ignored.
I’m slowly mastering this in my job, but I’m getting intentional about applying it in my life. What would I go for in life if I knew I wouldn’t fail? Fast forward 50 years…what do I want my memories to consist of? What could God do through my short time here on earth? What are my dreams? Life is too short to be limited. Don’t dream a little dream…it’s time to start dreaming big.
