The View From Here: Not Ready for My Dream

You guys? I am so late getting this ready.

See, I've had this cough, probably caused by post-nasal drip, for like, three weeks.

Which has nothing to do with this post, except that it's the reason

I'm only getting it ready at 11:15 PM Wednesday night.

My friend insisted on taking me to the walk-in clinic and it took a really long time.

I'm telling you this because I am not really able to come up with some interesting anything

as an intro for this post. Thankfully, my guest, Asheritah, wrote her own bio,

which I will give you at the end.

What I can tell you is that this is a very deep and meaningful one.

(Most of them are, really.)

Read on!

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Don’t Wish for Your Dreams to Come True… Yet

I’m not ready for my dreams to come true.

As much as I’d like it, if I’m being honest with myself, that would be a disaster.

I dream of speaking God’s Truth to the masses, delivering keynotes at conferences, and traveling the country on book tours.

Your dreams may be different. Maybe it’s a soaring career that blasts you through glass ceilings. Maybe it’s a husband, 2.5 kids, and a white picket fence. Maybe it’s to finally own your own business.

Or maybe it’s to fit in size 4 jeans.

We all have dreams.

Sometimes they’re big. They’re often too small. I believe God calls us to great dreams because He wants to move in mighty ways… but He rarely acts on our timetable.

A Season of Preparation

While my heart yearns for those big dreams, God has me in a place of waiting and learning.

I don’t have a large platform.

I haven’t written a book.

I haven’t even attended a blogging conference yet.

Maybe you feel like I do, that my utter lack of accomplishments mean I’m a big failure. Or maybe you’re frustrated because you’ve put in so much effort too but you’re still woefully short of where you dream to be.

Impatient and impulsive, I’m ready to conquer fears, push through limits, and achieve the incredible future God surely has planned for me.

But I’m still here, miles away from my dream, like many of you, too.

Some will tell us to try harder. Some will try to sell us 7 Steps to Instant Success. Others will tell us we’re chasing the wrong dream.

But I don’t believe it. I think you and I can be in the exact place we need to be, doing the very things we need to do, and still not seeing the fruit of our labor.

And I know why. But I don’t like the answer.

The Hard Truth

Here’s the hard truth: If God gave us today the things He has planned for us 10 years from now, we’d totally botch those opportunities.

Think about it: how much have you grown (as a student, wife, writer, blogger, or whatever your dream is) in the last 3 months? Year?  5 years? Imagine how much more you and I need to learn and grow in the coming months and years. What you’re learning now is exactly what you need to be wildly successful in the future.

I think of my daughter: she’s 10 months old today and speeding through stages faster than I can savor them. Two months ago she was hardly rolling over; now she’s trotting through the house barely holding on to me with one hand.

As proud as I am of her accomplishments, I would be a fool to sign her up for a 5k—my baby girl would be way out of her league. Someday, I hope to run 5ks with her. But until then, we’re taking one baby step at a time, learning the basics and building on them together.

So it is with us and our dreams. Whatever circumstances we’re in right now are the perfect learning opportunities to grow into the dreams God has for us.

For some that may mean continuing to eat healthy even if the scale doesn’t budge.

It means showing up for work every day even if our manager doesn’t appreciate our work.

It looks like sitting down at the keyboard even when I don’t know what to write.

It definitely means being faithful in the little we have right now so that we’ll be prepared for what is to come.

I’m reminded of Jesus’s words to His disciples, as He taught them about the coming Kingdom of God:

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” (Like 16:10)

If you want more, you must be faithful in what you have right now. And then when your big break comes, you’ll be ready because of the hard work you put in during this season.

Show up. Do hard things. Keep your eye on the prize. Pray through every task.

And be encouraged.

God has big dreams for you. Bigger than you can even dream for yourself. He who began this good work in you will be faithful to complete it.

Your turn: What’s your big dream?

How do you react when your dreams don’t materialize as quickly as you’d like?

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Asheritah is a Romanian-American blogger who married her middle school sweetheart and now has a blast raising their daughter. In between loads of laundry, work, and daily chaos, Asheritah blogs at onethingalone.com where she inspires women to sit at the feet of Jesus so they can dwell with him deeply, love others recklessly, and live their lives fully.

Find out more and connect with her on her blog, Facebook or Twitter.



photo credit: kugel via photopin cc