“DREAMS”
by Langston Hughes
Hold onto dreams
For if dreams die
Life is like a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Sometimes Langston Hughes only wrote one word per day. He took great care to craft each poem. I know that I’m on year number seven in trying to write the last line of a song. I took one year to wait on the Lord to find a melody for the verses of another song that would perfectly match the melody of the chorus. Finally, inspiration provided that melody.
Similarly, God takes equal care in fashioning His image inside of us. If you knew that you had a car that would last forever, you’d replace every worn part with something made of a metal that isn’t likely to perish for seemingly endless years. God works like that with us. Every detail of our lives is worth God’s careful inspection and perfection. No matter how long it takes. Even with the smallest of details, e.g., taking sarcasm out of our communications, learning to slow down, or learning to accept the imperfections of ourself and others.
The next time we wonder where God is, it may be best to NOT trust our emotions to tell us if God is with us. God promises to never leave us or forsake us. Christ didn’t die on the cross for “dear occupant.” He died for each of us and He’s intimately involved with every detail of our personal growth.
I think that dreaming is for folks who are brave enough to endure those times when there seems to be no hope that the dreams will be fulfilled. Better to know God and to know His joy and peace than to have any dream fulfilled. He knows our hearts and He promises that “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). No wonder the bible says four times that we “walk by faith and not by sight.”
Ideas taken from: “Marriage Forecasting: Changing the Climate of Your Relationship One Conversation at a Time,” by Muehlhoff & Allender.
