The Dreams You Hold Close

The most dangerous enemy your dreams have is you.

We're all sent into this world with a set of God-given dreams, and it's part of our life's duty to discover and nurture them. Dreams are what keep you reaching out, and up. They put the world into a context of the possible.

They make glory real, and give substance to beauty, and put the sweat into adventure.

So why do we, coldly and deliberately, murder them?

There are a number of reasons.

• I can't make it, so why break my heart by trying? This is the 'weak suck' excuse. It seeks to insulate from greater pain in the future by inflicting what is hoped to be lesser pain now. It's cowardly, and infectious, because the self-imposed limitation "I can't do it" will carry over to other things. And it always has a built-in shield to hide behind - "I never tried, so I never failed." It's pathetic. And this is the story of the servant, who, entrusted with one talent, buried it. "See, boss? You got your money back! All of it!"
• No one really respects my dream, so it can't be worthwhile. Jesus couldn't work miracles in his home district, and there are going to be people who want you to fail. What better way to ensure your failure than to cut your legs out from under you? And why do they want you to lose? So they can feel like they're winning. After all...they beat you.
• There are so many more worthwhile things, and my dream's frivolous.  Here's the biggie. This is the most destructive thing you can do to yourself. This is Judas telling Jesus he isn't worth the oil in the alabaster jar. Set yourself up as a fake Mother Teresa, and you can chase causes down the years, driving people away with your grim air of martyrdom.

The fact is that are dreams aren't small or selfish, and they don't take away from the contribution we can make to the common good. They're the investment that God has made in us, in their planting. They make our hearts grow larger, so we can spread more love.

They make our imaginations more vivid, so we can see where we can help Christ in action.

And they make our souls complete, so that God has room, and isn't cramped.

Hold onto your dreams, and you're holding God's hand.

Don't let go.