Why Do We Let Our Dreams Die?

There’s nothing like a great dream! When I was a kid, I remember waking up with a big smile on my face as my mind recalled the adventures and beauty of a world that was far more fantastic than our own… a world in which I could fly without wings, paint the sky with my fingertips, and even see into the future. I can’t remember having a dream that vivid or that blissful in a very long time. I remember day-dreaming of life as an adult and all the wonderful freedom it would provide (if I only knew). I imagined what I would be “when I grew up.”

As a child, you want to be a fireman, astronaut, mechanic, race car driver, and the president of the United States… ALL at the same time. AND you change your 5-occupation list at least a couple times a year! As you grow up, you start realizing that you have some limits and that you may not be smart enough to be an astronaut or a physicist, so you start telling everyone that you’re going to be a veterinarian or a teacher instead, since at least they wouldn’t laugh at you and tell you that you’re crazy. We let our magical dreams of utopia slip into the grave of impossibilities along with the flying and the painting that we simply dismiss as childhood fantasies.

Why do we let our dreams die? Why can’t we continue to pursue goals that may seem impossible? We are so easily influenced by the opinions and ridicule of others that NOTHING in life seems to be as important as the acceptance of our peers. For many, that process starts as soon as junior high, for others, it’s high school; and if you are somehow able to hold out, almost everybody concedes their dreams once they join the workforce.

But there are some whose dreams are a part of their DNA… some who would be more likely to give up on eating than walk away from their dreams. Those people are known as champions, heroes… and helicopter pilots (j/k). The only requirement to achieve the greatness that your heart longs for is to delight yourself in the Lord… more on that in the next post.