Dream a little dream...

or a HUGE irrational one. What's the harm in it? Actually, I'm finding it's a very good & valueable thing to do for my soul. Lately, I feel as though I'm coming out of a fog...the sky is clearing and the haze is lifting and all I see is crazy possibilities.

I believe my God delights in this. When my planning, realistic, limited thoughts about where my life is going start to crumble under the passions and desires that stire deep within, it's good. I've gotten used to the stirring in many ways. I could rattle off my "passions" and then quickly give a detailed explanation of why I'm not pursuing them with recklessnes. Yet, recently I've began to give in a little. To let go a bit of what I feel like is insurmountable and embrace the dreams. And they keep getting bigger...

In the Old Testament & New, the Lord speaks through dreams in very specific ways. He often said crazy things & made ridiculous requests of people. The example of Mary and Joseph is fresh on my mind having just celebrated Christmas. While Joseph sleeps an Angel tells him (In a DREAM) that he should go ahead and marry his fiance who has just gotten pregnant through a miracle that did NOT involve another man. Oh, and drag that pregnant woman across the country via horesback. CRAZY! But, Joseph didn't wake up and dimiss it all to his deep slumber. Simply, he ran to get Mary, get married and go on that long journey.

So, these dreams I have...they don't occurr when I'm asleep...those usually involve purple rhinos and 12 foot tall ice cream cones on a spaceship or something like that. I'm talking about the times that I'm quiet in my heart and even more silent in my soul...a whisper. A thought. A DREAM...a possibility of what might happen if I let go and do something crazy in order to show the world His love and His Way...when I begin to imagine it with more & more detail...I start to feel alive. Funny thing is...I didn't know I felt less than that. I had no idea there was more "Alive-ness" to experience...until I dreamt.

One time I dreamed a little dream...of marrying this great guy I had been dating even though we had broken up and no one thought we'd get back together...I dreamed a little dream of leaving my comforts to know the brokeness in Atlanta, GA...I dreamed of who might be waiting for us when we began foster care for 2, no wait, 3 little ones...I dreamed a little dream of sharing life [the bills, the colds, the joys, the dishes, the meals and the laughter] with another family who wanted to dream about wrecking the world we find comfort in and replacing it with an uncontainable, radical Hopefulness...I am dreaming little dreams again and it brings me to the edge of my seat with anticipation.

Go ahead. Let your mind fine tune the dreams you've been too busy to have...let the details become clear and the vision evolve. Change your life. It's a new year...which means a new beginning. I hope by 2012, my life looks different...that it looks better...that it looks a tiny bit like God's Kingdom on earth.

Dream a little dream...