Dreams on a Shelf

Let’s Dream! Today it is a crisp, sun-filled day. Why not join me and give yourself permission to tune out the world, to sit quietly in your favorite chair, maybe grab a cup of coffee, or hot tea, then shut your eyes and dream?

Do you find it’s easy to do, or do you find yourself coming up with a list of excuses why you can’t take the time? Is there a little voice inside your head that will not allow yourself the luxury to imagine, to be yourself, and to dream; not even for a few minutes?

Maybe, like so many of us, if you finally give yourself permission to take those few minutes to close your eyes and to step away and to dream, it will take a second or two to remember where you placed them. Do you find you have to push through the fog of your memories? Could it be they are sitting among the other dusty treasures you have tucked away with the keepsakes of your life? Maybe it is time to take a peek at those

Dreams on a shelf.

Dreams are often something that we see as part of our goals when we are younger, but sadly, as we age, we can sometimes forget the sparkle and excitement that spurs goals and dreams. However, I have yet to find a sound reason, not even in the pages of scripture, where we are called to discontinue dreaming just because we age. I can’t find a reference where Christ limits our gifts, callings, or even enthusiasm to our younger years.

However, what does sometime happen is stagnation or even bitterness that creeps in when a person has an inability to re-adjust when unforeseen circumstances occur in their life. We have all met or seen people who have lost their vibrancy and passion, because their ideal life fell by the wayside. The dreams of their youth were not met, so they gave up. And instead of unwrapping the package set before them, to see what new dreams were inside, they threw their life away, along with the possibility of new dreams.

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way. God has unlimited resources! So, we never have to stop dreaming, or seeing the possibilities for our life. When we give our life to Him, He will empower us, with inner strength, through His Spirit. It is amazing what can happen when we allow our eyes to readjust to the new vision. When we give over control of our life and our dreams, His plans become our plans…

Let’s listen in to one of Paul’s prayers in Ephesians to see the way in which his words says it so well:

“I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you
with inner strength through His spirit.”
(Ephesians 3:16)

From the moment we accept Christ, His spirit fills us, and we have glorious, unlimited resources. It empowers us with inner strength. I read nothing here that says we get more or less, bigger or smaller portions because we are younger or older. However, we can sometimes “feel” limitations as life progresses or even as a crisis occurs. We can even feel our dreams are lost, or our life’s plans are over.

That is why scripture is so vital, it helps us move past those “feelings” of being shelved, or of being limited, and to get our eyes back on our core foundation. It helps us re-center our life, our perspective, and our dreams, no matter our age, no matter our circumstance. The key: We are to TRUST Christ.

In return, Christ will make His Home in our hearts, and our roots will grow down into God’s love and keep us strong. God’s love is the solid foundation for our hearts, the place in which our dreams and our life finds purpose.

“Then Christ will make His Home in your hearts as you trust Him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.”
(Ephesians 3:17 NLT)

Those strong roots are necessary, they are the very thing that keeps us grounded when the winds of life whip us around and when unpredictable circumstances occur. The longer we live, the more we see and experience; this is true. However, an even greater truth resides in us … Christ! And when He makes His home in our hearts His spirit gives us the power to adjust to the circumstances that arise. Our roots are attached to Him.

This is an amazing concept. He understands the longing in our soul, because He created us, but we sometimes struggle with fully comprehending the bigger plan. Our understanding is humanly limited! We often still see our dreams on a shelf as something we lost. When instead, Christ may already be using them in a way we may never have imagined. This is where scripture broadens our perspective. It helps us visualize the magnitude of Christ’s love. And it also helps us to see the precious gift of a Heavenly Father that knows each of us so well that He would grant us dreams beyond our mere mortal understanding…

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete
with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”
(Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT)