I wanted to touch on a topic that is not only near and dear to my heart, but is relatable to just about everyone: how to deal with situations that involve other people living out dreams you’ve had for your own life.
Because these scenarios are so familiar, I will also be including these ideas in my upcoming book, so make sure to stay tuned to learn more once it’s published!
Anyway, the reason why I wanted to bring up dreams is because as young children, we are taught to think outside the box and be creative. We are told to “dream big” about our futures and everything we may want. Many of us declare I’m going to be an astronaut! or I’m going to be the next best-selling author! or I’m going to be a firefighter! and our hearts burst with excitement as we picture ourselves living out these scenarios.
But what happens when, further down the road, we still have these dreams and goals for our lives, but all of a sudden we witness a close friend, family member, or even a stranger on social media living it up and seemingly “taking advantage” of what we’ve been working so hard for, but never obtaining?
Ugh. Friends, this literally makes me want to sigh in frustration. Haven’t we all been through this before? One minute we are striving and on cloud nine because we’re oh so close to achieving our life’s most prized goal, when BOOM. Someone posts on Instagram or Facebook that they got into the college of their dreams.
Or they got engaged.
Or they got married.
Or they got prengant.
Or they graduated.
Or, or, or.
Each “good news” continues to take little stabs at our heart until we can’t take it anymore. We cry out to God, asking when will it be my turn?? or why does it seem like you’re blessing everyone else but me with this gift? and we are left not only heartbroken, but feeling forgotten, ignored, and abandoned.
One of the biggest lies Satan has been trying to get me to believe is that God doesn’t care about my dreams; it’s only about His agenda, and nothing else matters. If my dreams don’t fit in with that, well, I’m just gonna have to get over it. I’m gonna have to deal with the heartbreak because He just doesn’t understand.
I’m sorry, but how obviously far from the truth is that?? Do you know how much God watches over you? Do you know how hard He works to give you a life that’s even better than what you could ask for?
An example of this that I’ve experienced in my own life happened about six months ago, and you’ve probably read about it in previous posts.
In February I got in a car accident which ended up totaling my vehicle the week before Joe and I were supposed to leave for a wedding in Scotland. It happened on a Tuesday, exactly one week before we were scheduled to board our plane.
With all the resources we have online, I was told by numerous “trusty resources” that I would have to wait weeks before getting cash for my old Honda, and then I could start looking for a new car. However, that wasn’t exactly going to work for me. Both myself and my husband were working full time, which meant he needed his car to get to his job too; he couldn’t just be my personal driver for the next ten days. And, since we were going to be out of the country for the next week, I wouldn’t be available by phone call to answer the impeding questions of the insurance people.
Needless to say, I was terrified. I had no idea how any of this was going to work out, and from my eyes, I couldn’t imagine how God was going to provide. All I knew was He was going to do just that.
Lo and behold, Friday rolls around and I cashed my check for my old car. The very next day, we purchased me a new car, and I drove it to work the following Monday. I put in a claim through my insurance instead of through the person who hit me, which ultimately ended up saving me incredible amounts of time and hassle.
Looking back, I still have no idea how God worked His “magic” to make all the pieces fall into place. He not only lined up a rental car through Geico that was free to me, but also made everything happen in the blink of an eye so the repercussions weren’t long-lasting. He provided for us financially to be able to sustain another car loan, which to this day I can’t quite comprehend how it doesn’t strap us.
Friends, the Lord may allow you to go through some really tough things now and again. I’m going through the book of Job right now and right at the beginning we see God’s heart not only for Job, but for us as well:
HAVE YOU NOT PUT A HEDGE AROUND HIM AND HIS HOUSEHOLD AND EVERYTHING HE HAS? YOU HAVE BLESSED THE WORK OF HIS HANDS, SO THAT HIS FLOCKS AND HERDS ARE SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE LAND.
JOB 1:9 (NIV)
Sometimes God loves us so much, He wants to make sure our hearts are in the right place; He understands the temptation that the world gives us when we experience abundance and blessings!
He desires to bless us, but it may not be in the way we best imagine. We may have to go through loss in order to truly know His gifts. We may have to endure pain in order to understand remarkable healing.
So hold tight to the truth that His ways are far better than our ways. Whatever you’re asking for in this season of your life, try to imagine God saying no, and then multiplying your prayers a hundred-fold.
That’s the kind of God we serve
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