Book #23

“I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted”

These are the words sung by Fantine in the musical Les Miserables.  To her, a dream was hope, a better life, happiness.  John Eldredge, the author of Wild at Heart, says that a dream is a battle to fight (a better tomorrow and personal rewards), an adventure to live (experiencing new things), and a beauty to win (lifelong companionship).  According to Orrin Woodward in Resolved a dream is an idea that turns into plans which turns into goals.  To me a dream is our desires and wishes.  But, in his book The Dream Giver, Bruce Wilkinson has a different definition of the word dream.  According to his character, Ordinary, a dream is what we do best and what we most love to do. 

Ordinary lives a life much like most people—the same routine, the same friends, the same expectations—but, he starts to feel like something is missing in his life.  He realizes that he has been given a dream and was “made to be a Somebody and achieve Great Things.”  He decides he will leave his ordinary life and take the journey to make his dream a reality.  His journey is filled with discouragement, trials, excuses, and other obstacles. 

I, like Ordinary, have been visited by the “Dream Giver” and know that I have been put on earth for a reason.  I call that reason my mission or purpose.  I tried to compare my journey with his, but couldn’t figure out where I was on the path.  I’ve discovered my mission, but I’m still in the processes of defining what my mission looks like and feels like.  I’ve felt doubts and fears and wondered if and how I will be able to fulfill my mission.  I am blessed to be surrounded by people who support me.  Some may question why I am doing what I am doing, but they don’t try to stop me or persuade me to go a different route.  I know there will be trials and obstacles, but luckily I have yet to face them.  Bruce Wilkins writes, “The place we’re most likely to experience testing is exactly where we struggle most to trust God.”  He also says that if we are facing obstacles then we are on the right track. 

Until recently I never thought about missions or purposes.  If someone asked me what God’s plan for me was I would have said be a mom.  But now I am learning and understanding that God has a plan for everyone and it’s more than learn and grow and return to Him.  It is specific to me and it is specific to each of God’s children.  If I didn’t know about the idea of missions, how many other people don’t know?  Even though Bruce Wilkinson uses the word dream and I use the word mission, the idea is the same.  We all are called to do something.  In the words of Ordinary to his father: “Your dream is here somewhere, waiting for you.  And if you don’t pursue it, something very important won’t happen.”