When I was young, I used to always watch my Dad play the guitar. In fact, there was rarely a day that would go by that I wouldn’t hear him playing. He was our worship leader at the little country church where I attended as a child and he always seemed to make it look so effortless. I remember imagining myself on day playing the guitar like him, but deep down doubting I could ever be that good.
I also remember my Mom pursuing a dream to learn to paint and eventually she began to paint beautiful acrylic landscapes, and as I watched her, I hoped that someday I would do the same.
Well it took years before I would attempt to try to learn to play the guitar. My first leap of faith was to actually buy a guitar and eventually, thanks to some women in my life who were great encouragers, I took some lessons and I learned to play and loved it!
So, today I want to give you permission to dust off some dreams that you once had or perhaps there are dreams that God has placed inside that you are only recently discovering. I want you to dig out your journal where perhaps as a child you took the time to write down your hopes and dreams. Maybe, you once had a list of things you hoped to accomplish, and you were bursting with ideas and excited about all the adventures that lay ahead. You may have been so passionate about a cause or a ministry, but something happened along the way. Somehow you forgot you were still allowed to dream. Somehow you believed too much time had passed and it was too late.
I’ve had moments along the way where I wondered where my fire and passion had gone. I used to be the runner spoken of in 1 Corinthians 9: 24 that ran with my eyes fixed on the prize or in Hebrews 12:1 who runs with perseverance the race marked out for her.
Today I have good news for you. YOU are still allowed to dream. There are desires in our hearts that have been placed there by God and it says in Phil 1:6 that “ We can be confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion”!
I think part of the battle we face in pursuing a dream is to first have the faith to believe we can accomplish the steps it takes to get there. So, let me be a voice of encouragement to you. You can do it! With God’s help, he says in Matthew 19:26 “All things are possible”
Secondly, we need to stop comparing and measuring ourselves up to those around us. God has made you beautiful and unique. There is no one like you, and if he has given you a dream or placed a desire inside your heart, he will equip you and enable you to accomplish that dream even if it doesn’t look like anyone else’s. Marvel in the fact that you are one of a kind, perfectly designed and created for such a time as this. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Lastly, we need to give ourselves permission in the midst of the sometimes craziness of life, to run after our dreams. There’s a Christian artist named Chris Rice, that wrote a song called “Thirsty” and one of the lines in it says “Could I really be this thirsty, if there weren’t something more?” Pray and ask God to help you and guide you. If the dreams you are dreaming are from him he will make a way. The bible says God will go before you and make the crooked places straight. He will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Do you have a thirst for something more? Is there a dream inside of you that God has placed there and you feel like you’re going to burst? I mentioned my Mom was a painter and I longed to paint as well. Well, a few years ago I dusted off that dream and grabbed some cheap paint and a leftover piece of drywall in the garage and painted my heart out, and because I followed my dreams, eventually one of my paintings was sold in an auction for International Justice Mission to help rescue girls caught in slavery.
Had my Dad not pursued his dream of playing the guitar, and my Mom not had courage to learn to paint, I wouldn’t have had such wonderful examples to follow after. My son watched me learn to play and he now plays the guitar and my children have all become talented artists. The ripple effect of those wonderful sought after dreams my parents had has now begun to trickle down through the generations.
Not only does pursuing your dreams transform your own life, but it inspires and encourages those around you, and it also greatly impacts the little ones following in our footsteps.
So today I want to tell you, its not too late! Women of God, you’re not too old, or too young to dream. You have all that you need, and he will equip you in everyway to accomplish all that he has in store for you. In fact, today I want to encourage you to not only dream, but DREAM BIG!
Psalm 37:4
Take Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.