Lost Dreams: Where Did Our Dreams Die?

As I ask people to tell me about their childhood dreams and fantasies – the “what they wanted to be when they grew up” sort of dreams – almost everyone has to take a moment to remember, but when it hits them their faces light up.  As they begin to share their dreams with me, I see such fire, such youth, such joy in their eyes – dreams to be a princes, dreams to be a naval commander, or a police officer, or an artist, or a dancer, or a rock star…  So many dreams and plans and ambitions, and yet practically none of them have come true.  What happened?  Where did all these dreams die?

For some, their dreams died dimply because no one ever told them they have what it takes.  Others died because they were told flat-out that that they couldn’t do it.  Perhaps there were physical limitations that kept you from your dreams, or your grades weren’t good enough in school, or maybe people didn’t come through for you (maybe even God didn’t come through for you like you expected.)  Perhaps you tried and failed, or perhaps you didn’t try at all.  Sometimes even the pressure of someone else’s dreams can keep you from fulfilling your own (particularly the dreams of someone you love or look up to).

Whatever caused it, our dreams have died or weakened to the point they are barely larger than our reality.  We’ve gone from God-sized dreams to me-sized dreams in order to arrange success for ourselves, and we’re running ourselves ragged trying to fulfill our own longings instead of trusting God to “finish the good work He started in us” (Philippians 1:6).

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