Stolen Dreams

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams and live the life you have imagined.”(Thoreau) 

This may seem a little bit of a fairy tale thought to you, but in light of scripture we can have the desires of our heart when we trust God with them. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”

As a child my dreaming consisted of Christmas toys and summer fun. As a teenager, I dreamed of my first dance and my first kiss.  As a young lady, my thoughts were consumed with the perfect career, Prince Charming and my white picket fence…As a woman, I have dreamed of a happy family, unconditional love and security. Our dreaming never stops.  I believe God has placed a vision in our hearts from birth to live a life full of fantasy, love and excitement.

Our imagination is active as a child and the more it is cultivated the more it grows. Each time our hunger is starved or our imagination is squelched by life experiences or negative people our dreams seem more and more unattainable…until one day we see no hope for our future at all.

 

Divorce is definitely a top dream stealer.  Have you ever had something physically stolen like a wallet or cell phone?  Don’t you feel violated? How dare someone take something that they didn’t earn or pay for… something that had a rightful owner already? When divorce robs you of your dreams you feel offended and violated in this same way.  You may even feel like your spouse destroyed your scrapbook…something you have invested time and energy in…you have rights to your things, your children, your lifestyle and your marriage.  Divorce, certainly, can feel like a violation of the life we "own."  It is only when we change our thought process to “God-ownership” that we can feel free. He owns our belongings. He owns our children. He owns our very life. We can stop getting angry at the dream stealer and ask God for a confidence to follow His direction…and once again make our path straight.

I want to encourage you today.  Even if divorce has robbed you of the life that you have known for years, you are allowed to start over.  From today on…you can begin a new scrapbook and add pictures of toys and vacations, dream homes, jobs and, yes, even Prince Charming!  No one can take away your gift to dream.  Dreaming allows us to hope again.  It allows us to put our energy toward goals that are healthy for us.  As a matter of fact, once you begin, you will realize that you can now dream even bigger than before.  You may be able to act on a fantasy from your youth that your marriage had put a stop to.  Maybe you have always wanted to paint, or write a book, take singing lessons, or finish your degree. You now have the freedom to go or do the things you were unable to do when you were busy surviving the hurricane that became your life.  Dreams give life.  Possibilities bring joy.

A book worth reading!

  Start making a new dream book today.  Map out what you want your life to look like in 6 months, a year and 5 years from now. Begin creating a new vision for your life and start making decisions to walk in the direction of that vision.  Divorce destroyed your first scrapbook, but gave you a reason to start a new one. Dream big this time...no holding back.  Ask God for exceedingly abundantly above what you can ask or think.  You are the only one limiting yourself to what can happen in your future. 

Romans 11:29 tells us that God’s gifts and his calling on our life are irrevocable…He still wants you to live out the desire of your heart. How do you know if the desire of your heart is God given?  When I researched the Hebrew meaning of “desires of our heart” I found that it simply means that He will add desires on our heart. When we make ourselves moldable and pliable we “delight” in the Lord…Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”…then He can equip us to endure any trial on the path to fulfill our purpose in life.......“May He give you the desire of your heart and make all you plans succeed.”  Psalm 20:4