LETTING GO OF A DREAM

    You’ve no doubt heard it said: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18. Numerous scriptures indicate that the biblical understanding of the word “vision” is a revealing of God's will.  It seems to me that in our day, some (including myself) have reduced the word “vision” to mean “dream” and more specifically, “my dream.”  

    We all have dreams, spoken or unspoken.  Some of them are buried so deep you don’t know they are there; others have “died.”  I think of the little child on life support who just couldn’t hold on any longer. If this brought tears to my eyes (and I’d never met the child), what anguish the parents must feel! Although they are not without comfort, knowing their little girl is now free from pain, it is an irretrievable loss.

    And then there are other dreams where opportunities arise that seem to be an answer to long- awaited prayer.  You make a decision to follow this emerging path but are jolted by the awareness  that “this is not who you are anymore.”  The old dream feels too small and confining.  You make a choice to let it go, knowing that your present reality, despite its challenges, is BETTER than the old dream. I’ve discovered holding on to dreams “past their time” robs me of energy, and I wonder if it doesn’t tie God’s hands “His miracles to perform” in the present moment. 

    Most important, viewing dreams from “my” perspective misses the point.  If a “dream” or a “vision” is the revelation of God’s will, what is God’s vision?  Something to ponder…What dream is on His heart? How am I…how are you…part of God’s dream today?