Last night, I held a dream come true in my hands.
My son Josh received the first copies of his debut fantasy novel, Forge of Ashes — a long-awaited dream, now a reality. Holding his book in my hands was every bit as wonderful as the moment I held my debut novel in my hands — possibly even more exciting. There’s something about seeing your child’s dream come true that is both exhilarating … and indescribable.
There’s a lot to be said about dreams. The necessity of them. The perseverance demanded by the pursuit of them. And the cost exacted by them too.
But the one thing I would say about dreams is this: To be fully alive, we must dream — and therefore, we are wise to guard our dreams.
This life we live is a dream-stealer. Circumstances … trials … disappointments … all of these experiences seem to demand that we offer our dreams up on the altar of defeat. Why go on dreaming when what we long for remains just beyond our grasp, or worse, seems to move farther and farther away?
Why?
Because God made us to dream. God made us as a reflection of Himself … and He dreamed big when he made us in His image and decided we were worth loving with an everlasting, sacrificial love. He dreamed big when He decided we were worth all He had to give — Himself — and never abandoned the dream of reconciliation, no matter the years and years of rebellion.
If God can dream like that … so can I. Can you?
In Your Words: What are you dreaming today? And whose dream are you cheering on?
[Tweet “In Others’ Words: Where #Dreams May Go #inotherswords #lifequotes “] [Tweet “”To be fully alive, we must dream … ” #inotherswords #daretodream #risk”]
Comments 14
Dreams keep me reaching into the sunlight of a tomorrow I still hope to live to see.
Giving up accepts death. I won’t.
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I know you won’t give up, Andrew. It is not who God made you to be.
Beautiful post, Beth. And my throat was tight as I read your mama’s heart about holding your boy’s book. 🙂 Truly exciting.
The easy dream to mention is that of being published. Easy to say, hard to walk out. 🙂 A part of me dreams of being an influencer in lives. Not sure what that’s going to look like at this point.
Author
You are an influencer in others’ lives, Jeanne. You’ve influenced me greatly from the day I first met you. Truly.
So excited to see Josh’s dream come true! I know how much this means to you, my friend, and the emotion of every step of this journey. I smile wide when these pictures show up on my social media!
Author
It truly is a deep, deep joy, Casey.
I know you are so proud of him! I think it is better when we see your children’s dreams come true.
Author
So true, Pat. So true.
I know you are so proud of him! I think it is better when we see our children’s dreams come true.
oops. Don’t know how that happened. I wish sometimes we had delete buttons like on FB. lol
Author
🙂
Congratulations, Josh!
I’m dreaming of many things, but the one I dream of most often is meeting, courting, and marrying the man God has created specifically for me. He’s out there somewhere… Can’t wait to meet him.
First of all, I would love to congratulate your son Josh and you! I imagine you are just overflowing with joy for this wonderful milestone. I pray that this will be the beginning of many more wonderful triumphs for Josh. 🙂
As for myself, for the longest time I was afraid to admit my dreams. I had them, but it seemed that whenever I voiced one or put any attention to it, something would dash it away. I really am fortunate because several have come true. I am a mother to a wonderful young man, I am married to an amazing man (and boy do I know the difference after a rough shake back in the day, and I work in Christian ministry as a weekend host on the radio. Lastly there is the one that has burned in my gut from the first time my mom was too tired to read to me, I’ve longed to tell stories.
Author
Thank you, Kelly — yes, much joy here!
I am so glad you are embracing and chasing your dreams!