When Your Dreams Are Forgotten

Are you a dreamer? Did God write something on your heart years ago, yet it has gone unfulfilled?

Sometimes God gives us a desire. For me, my first passion was to have a family. To be a mom. I had no desire to climb the corporate ladder. I didn’t want to be a career woman. I just wanted to be a mom.

And the Lord has blessed me with three beautiful children. The path to these precious little ones wasn’t easy, but here I am, fulfilling my calling to be a wife and mother. It isn’t a glorious life. But it’s a good life. And it’s my life.

The Lord also gave me another dream. To write. What this calling actually looks like is yet to be seen. At this moment, I write for myself. And I write to encourage you, my reader. I have been published on other sites, and maybe one day I will write and publish our family’s story. Or a different message that Christ gives me. I honestly don’t know how this will play out, and that’s okay.

Because in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I fulfill the calling in front of me – whether it’s ministering to my family, participating in overseas missions, advocating for orphans, or encouraging other women in their journey of motherhood.

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the She Speaks writing conference hosted by Proverbs 31 Ministries. It was a sweet time of encouragement, teaching, and new friendships. I learned a lot, had a great meeting with a publisher about a book idea, and enjoyed some precious worship time. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but what I experienced far exceeded anything I could have imagined.

Because I found myself in the presence of Jesus.

As I participated in worship and as I listened to each amazing speaker, I was encouraged to pursue my dreams. My dream of writing, to be sure. But I was also inspired to pursue my dream of motherhood. Of family.

You see, sometimes when we begin to pursue

one dream that God lays on our heart, we forget

about the other dreams He has given us.

I have been writing for four years, and I love it. Writing is my outlet. It’s my way to process all that God is doing in my life. It’s also (hopefully) how I encourage others.

And while that is all well and good, if I’m not careful, I will neglect the ones that God put in my life every day. I was reminded of this truth on the first morning of the conference as Shauna Niequist talked to us about making room for margin in our lives. She spoke with us about building friendships, making time to renew our souls.

And then she said this:

“The most important beautiful thing is what you are

building around your dinner table.” 

I was later reminded of this truth again by Jill Savage from Hearts at Home. She said something along these lines:

“If we write 2000 words a day, or have a successful business, or cook a gourmet meal, but we can’t stop for five minutes to watch our daughter perform a new gymnastics trick or listen to a story from our teenager, we have nothing.”

Sweet friends, in the hustle of your life, don’t forget that your most important ministry is right in front of you. Your husband. Your children. Your friends. They are what matters.

Slow down and make room for margin in your life.

One verse kept appearing to me during the conference. In my own personal Bible study, in our conference notebook, in a message. A verse I’m not sure I had ever taken the time to dwell on before.

“I am the sweet fragrance of Christ to God.” (1 Cor 2:15)

I want to be the sweet fragrance of Christ to my family. To those God puts in my path. This week I will slow down, be who God created me to be, and see the needs in front of me as my ministry.

As you pursue your dreams and calling, be sure to make time for the ministry that is right in front of you. Because when you are loving your family and loving Jesus, everything else will fall into place.

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