Picture*photo credit http://beheretoday.com
I used to wonder what I was meant to do with my life. I would pray and I would ask and I would demand God to give me direction. I would plead with Him to show me what I am supposed to do with this life, what I was made for.

I was petrified that I would miss my calling. Scared that if I chose wrong then I would miss what I was made for, terrified that I would lose my destiny. 

So I did nothing. 

I took a job to pay the bills. I took a job that I was good at, but didn't leave me fulfilled. Ends were met, bills were paid, still I waited for God to show me what He made me for. I felt allot like a coffee mug that was holding pencils. I was good at holding pencils. None of the pencils dropped. But I wasn't made to hold the pencils. I was made for something else. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing my purpose.

One morning I was getting ready for my day, doing nothing in particular when I felt that "still small voice" inside me ask a very simple question "What if I don't tell you what to do?" it asked "What if you choose what you want to do and I will bless what you choose?" 

The choice was on me and I found this terrifying. I was petrified by pressure. What if I chose wrong? What if I picked something that I hated? The problem was I had forgotten how to dream.

When we are kids dreaming comes easy. We play at being firemen, policemen, astronauts. When I was a kid I used to say "When I grow up I'm going to write a famous comics strip." It wasn't a struggle to dream.

The problem is we get so weighed down by disappointment that we stop dreaming. We stop hoping for good things because if we don't expect good things when won't be disappointed when they don't happen. We prepare for the worst and then wonder why our lives seem like nothing good ever happens?

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."
Proverbs 13:12
Sometimes you've got to give yourself permission to dream. It takes being brutally honest with yourself and sometimes you have to dig through layers of practicality and regret and disappointment  to find those old dreams. But they are still there even though we try to suffocate them and silence them.


If I'm honest with myself I dream of being a writer. Will I ever make money at it? Someday, I hope. I allowed myself to dream that one day I will pull a paycheck with my words.


Until then I can still write. I can still get better at my dream. I can put in the hours and hone a talent.


What dreams have you forgotten? What is inside of you that you have tried to suffocate with practicality? 


As my favorite author once said:
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
C.S. Lewis
6/24/2013 11:36:06 pm

You are a writer. God is passionate about what YOU are passionate about. You, chasing YOUR dream, is like YOU chasing God's dream for your life. - Don't stop writing.

Oh, and I really love the coffee cup analogy. Hope you don't mind if I borrow it. - Blessings.

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David Helms
6/26/2013 12:13:47 am

Thanks Hutch! I'm coming to the conclusion that God wants us to do life together, not just me taking orders from Him, but actually living in relationship...imagine that?!

Feel free to take the coffee cup analogy, I heard a worship leader say that years ago and it really stuck with me. Ya know what they say "Good artists borrow, great artists steal." I think that was Picasso, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, blessings to you brother!

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6/25/2013 02:36:54 am

Keep on - keep on. Yes you can and do!

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David Helms
6/26/2013 12:15:14 am

I've decided to keep on! Yep! Thank you so much for the encouragement! It really means more to me than I can say!

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Wanda Ritchie
6/25/2013 03:30:09 am

Dave, keep on dreaming and writing! Your gift of writing is recognized my many who read your blog. I look forward to reading what you write. Hope you will compile some of these writings into a book!
Proud of you and being open to God's leadership. Your name isn't Samuel ... it's David ... but you can hear God speak!

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David Helms
6/26/2013 12:17:09 am

Thank you so much Wanda! I am working on a book that will probably be finished next year.

As David was a man after Gods heart that's what I hope for my life, but I'll take some Samuel blessings too. ;)

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christine Driggins
6/26/2013 11:46:16 am

Wow, Dave that awesome writing! So proud of the man chasing after God that you have become. I remember that day Kenny invited to come on our youth trip, thanking God you accepted.

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David L. Helms
6/26/2013 12:07:11 pm

Thank you and thank you miss Christine! That's a great memory, thanks for all y'all have done!

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Roger
6/26/2013 11:36:35 pm

Very well written and I enjoyed reading it so there you go That's Your talent

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