There was this day recently that I got lost going to visit my family in my HOMETOWN. For REAL. I have lived in the area for the past 20 years but I missed my turn and I didn’t even realize it.
Why you ask?
I was daydreaming.
It’s that time of year that I likely shouldn’t be on the road. I live in the most beautiful part of the country and right now EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL. The vineyards are full and lush in their perfect rows and look like cozy green blankets spreading across the land. Purple, pink and white wildflowers are lining the country roads, and fruit stands are luring me from the sidelines. Greenhouses are showing their vibrant displays and there are acres and acres of beautiful colours all around me. Throw in a few country barns and the “pick your own peaches” signs and I have to hold on tight to the steering wheel.
I can’t stop staring.
Which causes me to start thinking, and dreaming and imagining.
And so, I ended up in a little town called Wainfleet.
Completely lost.
I had no idea where I was or that I had even missed my turn. I actually had to plug in my GPS to get back to MY HOMETOWN. Kind of embarrassing.
Lost in dreams though?
It’s sort of normal in my life.
Ever feel like there’s so much you want to grasp onto, that you don’t know what to actually reach for? That’s me, almost all the time. Today I saw an ad on Facebook Marketplace for an adorable mobile ice cream truck, and I had a whole plan made for next summer. And that was just one thing I thought of during the day. And I don’t think I’m alone. Through conversations and observations of people around me, I realize more and more that we ALL have dreams that lie within us – even if we can’t always put them into words.
And, I get this sense and this feeling that there’s something happening in hearts.
A dream-movement that is arising.
People going after things.
Not content to stay in safe places.
Maybe it’s because our world seems so dark, and we want to bring hope and light. Perhaps we’re tired of seeing things we care about slip away. It could be that we are finally accepting and believing that we have been created for purpose and passion, and putting that on the shelf just isn’t an option anymore.
There’s no best-before date on what you’ve been called to do with your life.
No matter where you are. No matter your circumstances.
You can still go after the deep things in your heart.
There have been time in my life where I have shut down my dreams. I think they are too unrealistic. Or I feel like I don’t have the capacity, and I’ve dealt with so much rejection that I don’t know if I can keep on. I disqualify myself and figure that there’s enough people out there in the the world. Someone else can do it. Someone else will fill the gap. My voice doesn’t matter and I’ll never fit in anyway – so why bother?
Those are lies.
Big giant lies.
No-one else can play the part of your life.
There’s enough dreams to go around.
There’s people who need what only you can give.
There are big tables with lots of seats.
There is room for you.
Let’s stop thinking that everyone else and their dreams are something that we have to live in the shadow of, and instead let’s step out bravely into new places. It’s time to stop being afraid of what others will think, and care about what the one who created us thinks. As a reflection of the most creative Maker, we have been called to live out a purpose and a plan.
Be who you are meant to be.
Don’t let your dreams expire on a shelf.
Cheer on the other dreamers at your table.
There’s room for us all.
And if you have to wander lost through the countryside to find it, that’s ok too.
The world needs what only you can give.