A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

The bit of hiking we were able to do at Bass Lake has wet my appetite to make more of a habit of following those woodsy trails to see what I find. In order to do that, I need slightly more sophisticated equipment, though. Stuffing a 16oz water bottle in my front jeans pocket and my camera in the other might have worked for a short walk, but would not suffice for a more invigorating trek. As a result, I braved Wal-Mart to find something to carry a small amount of water and gear. I found the fannypack of my dreams and headed for the checkout.

As the clerk was scanning my items (OK, I also got mints, Diet Coke and some socks...no sense wasting a trip), she stopped and stared at the fannypack as she scanned it. She sighed, looked at me and asked if I was planning a big trip.

"Nope. Nothing big. Just a few short walks in the woods." She had the most wistful look on her face. Then, with all seriousness, confessed to me her dream of climbing Mount Everest. I thought it was an exciting and dangerous dream and told her so. She gave me an uncomfortable giggle, turned away to scan my other items, and said, "Well, I'll never do it, anyway." And the sparkle in her eyes left just as quickly as it had appeared. That made me sad. I encouraged her to get out and find some hiking trails and get started on achieving her dream. She smiled, but I don't think she will be searching for places to walk any time soon.

How many times do we all do what this young woman did? We have dreams, but we keep them hidden in our hearts and never pursue them. One day, we'll wake up and find out the time to realize our dream has passed. If we miss achieving those dreams without even trying, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

So many times we dismiss our heart's desires as kid's stuff. It was stuff we played at when we were young, but now that we are adults it is time to get on with getting on in the real world. The only problem is, we were never made to "get on" in the real world! We were meant for something greater! Where do you think those wondrous dreams come from? If we are Christians, we have to at least consider the possibility that God himself placed those desires in our hearts for the purpose of honoring Him with our lives and bringing us joy. In Christ, we are free to pursue our dreams.

According to the Newton's First Law, if we are sitting around wishing for something to happen, we are likely going to be still sitting and wishing six years from now if we don't do something to get our fannies in gear. I like how the law implies that for something at rest to finally move, it needs to be acted upon by an unbalanced force. Our determination is that unbalanced force.

If you have a dream, you will only know if that dream can come true for you if you try. So TRY!