Some people are born “dreamers”, perhaps you were one, where in school you stared out the window daydreaming of who knows what, and maybe even were told that you have your “head in the clouds”. Openly, I am not one of those people, as an Enneagram 1 for my whole life, my brain is ruled by rationality, rule following, and (I am ashamed to admit) the ever-evading grasp of perfectionism. Though it doesn’t come naturally to me, I do believe there is a lot of value in being a dreamer. A person who constantly dreams is filled with hope, as their mind wanders into the ambiguous waters of what could be and what their ideal outcome might look like.
Even in my early twenties I hadn’t really allowed my mind to drift as many young girls’ often do as children to think about what my future wedding would look like. My rationality was, if I didn’t dream, then I didn’t have hope that could be destroyed (in this case, if I never got married). In my mind, if a dream didn’t come true, it would feel like a failure. After all, dreams are supposed to come true, right? At least that’s what I remember hearing that repeatedly as a child of the late nineties early 2000s consuming Disney content.
I learned later that this aversion to dreaming was because I had (okay, maybe I still have) difficulty separating dreams from concrete plans. So if I had a dream, in my mind, I was obligated to commit myself to carrying it out. This often resulted in hurt that I perceived as self-inflicting wounds by holding myself to dreams, that I had made morph into plans and goals of which I had no control over. I remember sitting in my therapists’ office lamenting how difficult it was for me to allow myself to dream.
She paused for a moment, when we think about dreams and what we hope our future looks like, what if instead of planning out what could go wrong, (to protect myself from the worst case coming true,) she implored, what would happen if I would consider a best-case scenario. I recall recognizing two things, one, that would mean relinquishing control because while I could prepare for a worst-case scenario, I could not force the best one. Second, that was the point of allowing oneself to dream, to meditate on best case scenarios, and explore what your specific best-case scenario looks like. It isn’t a plan, (at least not at that stage). And the beauty is, dreams are specifically unique to us. My ideal scenario may be different from yours, and that is okay, because God doesn’t typically put the same dreams in us. We are all called differently according to our unique strengths and purposes.
It struck me – accepting the absence of control, and concentrating on positive outcomes, was the birthplace of hope. Moreover, God desires for us to live a life full of hope. How sad must he get when I deviate towards the worst-case scenario and rob him of the dreams He wants to plant inside me. What I love about what Paul says in Romans, is that we serve a God of hope, and that because He is an all-powerful God, we can stand with confidence in hope, because we can rely on who He is.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.
Romans 15:13 (AMP)
So don’t be afraid to dream of that job, for the child, or a home (or even all of those things and more!) Because if we’ve truly relinquished control, if those dreams don’t come true we have peace, and if the best case scenarios come true, or dare I say, God even exceeds your dreams, give Him thanks! Shout for joy! Spread the word of all the good He has done for you, bring it up at your next one on one with your boss and bear witness! When we live out hope in the dreams God has placed in our heart, He is glorified. And when we walk with the confidence that our creator placed us in that place, others will see, it makes followers of Jesus a little bit unique, and they might wonder why we have this hope and joy and peace, before you know it, we’re sharing the good news of Jesus at work
So, let’s dream a little more together, and cling to the hope that He offers. Go and live with hope, and don’t forget to dream!
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