When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a ballerina. This noble dream was quickly replaced by the desire to be a carpenter. This dream manifested around the same time that my parents remodeled the house, which was also about the same time that I discovered boys. This dream had little to do with building things, but had everything to do with entering a male-dominated workforce… cringe!
In my late teens, I was no less boy-crazy and had a solid plan of owning and running my own dairy farm. Off to Ag school I went and landed my MRS degree with the letters Brix behind my name, and all thoughts of running a dairy farm vanished as I worked in Ag sales as a newlywed.
We were just babies at 19 and 20 years of age when we got married, but I will say that one of the reasons our marriage has stayed strong all these years has been our ability to dream together. Not only are we professional dreamers, but we are also opportunists. Sometimes these have been incredible, life-changing decisions, like sending Adam back to college while we had 3 kids 4 and under at home. Other times they were utter failures, like when we started a beef business and bought a refrigerated van, or when we had fun raising 20 calves, so went big and bought 80 calf huts. They are all empty at the moment fyi… or the time we… I better quit while I’m ahead. I actually have a lot more examples of times we rushed into something that failed than I do things that were successes. But the times we did get it right far outperformed our failures, and the lessons we learned were far too valuable to ever regret those fiascos.
These are strictly business ventures, but I can think of examples from all areas of my life where the same rule of thumb applied. I tried and failed at many different spiritual exercises. A few of them stuck, and those are special devotions that really cultivate my faith life. I have tried a million different parenting hacks. Most kicks I get on are completely helpless, but the few tricks I have adopted have saved me countless tears and time with my kids.
What does dreaming have to do with failed chore charts and empty calf huts? Well, nothing I suppose. But on the other hand, maybe everything! Most of us refuse to follow our dreams because we are so afraid of failure. Failure can be a beautiful thing as it is teaches us the virtue of humility. Humility is the mother of all other virtues.
Wouldn’t you agree that most dreams come straight from God, Our Father? These desires, (desire translates into “of the Father” in Latin), are placed on our hearts for a reason. Yes, the devil will try to distort them, and can sometimes make the desire itself into a false god, but when stripped down, our deepest dreams are a spiritual blessing. Maybe there was a lesson that God wanted to teach us, or maybe in reaching far beyond our comfort zone there was somebody special that we would meet and forever touch their lives.
Some dreams are big, like starting a business. Others are small, like perfecting the perfect bedtime routine. Regardless, God gave us our dream, and our job is to fulfill it the best we can. This often requires epic time management, the ability to be a life-long learner, and emotionless common sense. It would be foolish to take out a second mortgage on your home for a business that is failing… see what I’m saying?
I know it sounds like I am glorifying failure, but I can assure you that each and every time I attempt something new, I fully intend on winning with it. But reflecting upon it, it’s cute because 9 times out of 10 I probably will fail with it.
The cool thing about dreams is that they come in all shapes and sizes and at all different times. Some desires will lay on your heart for decades before it is ever realized. Others will be there for a short season. I want to encourage you to focus on just one dream this month. Do the homework required. Learn the skills that need to be learned to get you there. Connect with the people you need to to make it happen. Find the time to make it happen. And please share your dreams with us! I love to hear what people are working on and would love to pray for you for the perseverance you will need to reach your goal.
Until next time, my dear sisters in Christ,
Leah
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