Not a Dream Survived
Not far from where I live and pastor is a church that formed the template of churches for me in my youth. It doesn’t slightly resemble any church that I ever attended (as a member), and I know nothing about it, but, when I thought of churches, its image always came to mind. Maybe it’s because that particular house of worship resembles the churches in so many pastoral scenes that I hold it in memory even today. As a pastor-to-be, I would think, “One day I’ll pastor a church like that.”
There were a lot of things I thought would come to be that never did. The assumptions of my youth went far deeper than physical appearances. It’s good that we don’t know everything in advance, but, sometimes, it makes me kind of sad. We live life day-to-day unthinking until it’s nearly gone then wonder what might have been and why it wasn’t. Whether or not we consider ourselves successful, whatever, there’s a sense of remorse for unrequited dreams. You never know what you’re going to get.
Our destiny is not entirely in our hands whatever pride might say. Much of the charm of life is that its ending is uncertain. The assumptions that we make should not become assumed facts. Even the wisest among us don’t perceive all ends. Life is meant to be lived. The choices we make depend on the choices we have, and no one has an advance copy. Golfing great, Bobby Jones, said, “You have to play the ball where it lies.” We live the life that has been laid before us with the choices we make in the hands of God.
Some of the dreams of youth are not meant to be. It’s not a matter of spoiling the dreams- they weren’t going to be. All such musings miss the point of God’s will. Our lives are to be lived with an eye heavenward because we are never out of God’s sight. As His ways are higher than ours, we may never understand the totality of why things are the way they are until eternity. One thing we know for sure- God has a will for us where we are. Our journey is a part of His will, also, and we’ll be happier if we cast our lot with Him.
Human goals vanish like a morning mist under the bright sun of God’s eternal plan. What we want must bow to what He wants. That’s the only way we really get what we need, and the only way we can ever find ourselves truly fulfilled. Never mourn the events of a life lived in God’s will. Never hope for an easier road than the one that has landed you safely in His plan. You are meaningful where you are, and your life has purpose beyond your dreams. Until the day of realization, God strengthen and preserve you.
Sterl
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