He had a dream 2 years ago, a real in-the-night dream and not something he thought up during church. Sometimes you wake in the morning after having lived a whole life in your dreams, and you are just dog-tired. The night passed too quickly and the dream too slowly, and your morning feels like the first day of forever. Like everything in your reality might be a let down after waking.
And was the dream from the Lord?
Was it real and inspired or just the consequences of too much imagination? Too much wishing, and maybe too much pizza?
He acted on it with faith and obedience, took steps and moved forward, all the while listening for Reality to wake him up if he was wrong.
Because who wants to pour themselves into a dream of your own crazy-making?
"And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions." ~ Joel 2:28 NKJV
We read of Bible-dreams that seemed obvious and neon and we doubt our own. We doubt what we might have heard on our feather pillows, and the further we get from slumber the more we question ourselves, or God, or whoever.
We want to run to our Eli for answers.
There are dreams that we star in and centerstage is all about us, and we can be pretty sure our own minds inspired those.
There are dreams full of just plain weirdness and nothing makes sense and how'd you even get into Walmart without your pants on in the first place? And you wake up hating Walmart.
But there are other dreams that don't leave you.
He says he's giving it 5 years. To me and my quick-fix, short-term, instant-gratification-loving self, five years is a long time. An endless night living out this dream that still has him doubting now and then.
But he hasn't heard God say no and he hasn't found any reason not to pursue this dream, so he just goes on. The obstacles make him question and the mistakes are frustrating, but he just goes.
Maybe we get off course and maybe we make up things, but God sees our holy intentions. He sees hearts that are loyal and He says He will strengthen those.
A feeble heart might just need a dream to chase.
I have this friend. She's 67 years old and a widow, and she just had surgery on her broken back. She'll come home from the hospital today to rest and recover, and when she is healed up she'll head back to Africa. She'll probably buy a one-way ticket, probably find a new home for her cat and her furniture, and probably live out a dream that many would shrink back from.
And I wonder what dreams I've given up too easily and too early in the morning?
Linking up with Grace Laced Mondays, MercyInk, The Wellspring, and #TellHisStory