Monday, October 16, 2017

Dream, He said

Dream. 
He said.

Dream.
Think of what could be.

And so we did.

There was a permission to live freely in the dreaming process. No boundaries, no parameters, no "No's"....just dreams. We processed for a bit and slowly we began to shout out own dreams.

I'll admit that mine weren't limited to just our ministry--they were bigger, broader, and probably a lot more unrealistic.

I want to see a changed world.
I want revival.
I want more than what I read about, hear about, cry about....

The dreaming reminded me that there's hope.
Hope of better.
Hope of good.
Hope of different.

I've been wondering what my part in the conversation lately needs to be. What can one person possibly do or say that matters? What can one person say or do to be a catalyst for change? An anchor of hope?

And then I've realized that more often than not, it only takes one person. One person to believe, to be willing, to go, to be. One person to listen. One person to speak out. One person to live out their dreams with reckless abandon. One person, living obediently in the path the Lord has put before them.

And it's never really one person. There's always an Aaron to your Moses, a Timothy to your Paul, a Rosa Parks to your Martin Luther King Jr. There's always a host of people who are like-minded with similar missions longing to see the changes, to see the redemption, to see the freedom. It's just we sometimes stall out in knowing how to make it happen. Sometimes we doubt. Sometimes we're terrified. Sometimes we don't really think the Lord could ever use us.

I don't doubt that there are millions of people in the world who have the same dreams that I do. Millions whose hearts break when they read the news, millions who are scared, millions who want this world to be better. And then millions who just keep plodding through life, not really making any changes at all. We sigh, we cry, and then we move on.

I want more.
My heart is screaming.
But my actions don't often reflect the cries from within. Because plodding through life is easier. It's more comfortable.

Dream.
Think of what could be.

I don't want to just dream anymore.
I don't think I can.
I have to do more. We have to do more.

I don't fully know what it needs to look like yet, but I know that it has to start somewhere.

I frolicked through a golden wonderland two weekends ago, dreaming and praying and wishing and hoping...and now it's time to do.

It may not need to be grandiose just yet. It may start small.
Offering hope.
Extending grace.
Building trust.
Serving others.
Forgiving those who have wronged us.
Asking forgiveness from those we have harmed.
Breaking down barriers.
Being willing to get to know people who are different from us...and letting them know us.
Stepping out of our comfort zones.
Being faithful with what we've been given each day.
Working hard.
Living out of our true calling.
Dying to our own desires.
Proclaiming Jesus in ways He is truly honored by and glorified in.
Sharing our stories of redemption and life change.
Being kind. And thoughtful. And generous.
Knowing the Lord.

Would you consider coming with me?
On another imperfect journey of second chances?
I may only be one person, but there's at least a million of you that want to change this world.

Would you consider committing to knowing the Lord more deeply? And then deeper still? To be devoted to Him, to pressing into Him and letting your life be an overflow of that? Would you consider, before you speak or write or do something that might offend or hurt someone, pausing and seeking?

I think that's the crux of the change.
Knowing Jesus.
That's the real dream.
That all may know Him, love Him, live their lives for Him, worship Him.

And if we all start doing that, if we all start truly living out of that...?
I think it changes everything.

Dream.
And then let's do.
With reckless abandon.

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