As I drive my thoughts zip down a two lane road in my mind as well. In one lane, I’m thanking God for answered prayers and desires granted. In the other lane, I’m feeling frustrated that my day-to-day reality doesn’t always line up with the magnificent vision I have in mind. I long to see a sign from God that one day those two lanes will merge. When will that finally happen?
It seems God has an answer for me. Um, heaven.
Oh, right. I should have seen that one coming.
We live in a paradox, friends. We are not Home yet. And on the journey to where we’re going, what we can dream up and what actually unfolds in our lives are never going to align perfectly. Never. I’m not saying that to be a stinker. I’m saying it to save us from one of the biggest dream killers: unrealistic expectations.
If we demand that our perfect vision be fulfilled then we will never be satisfied.
Not with our dreams.
Not with our marriage.
Not with our family.
Not with our church.
Not with ourselves.
“So why bother dreaming?” you might ask. It’s simply this: “Where there is no vision the people perish” {Proverbs 29:18 KJV}. In other words, our dreams and desires pull us toward life. They draw us toward Home. They keep us looking to God for his best in our lives. That’s a good and beautiful thing.
It’s only when we turn our desires into demands that we get into trouble.
What can we do to avoid that? First, we can accept that we will live between those two lanes all of our lives here on earth: the ideal and the real, the eternal and the everyday. Then we intentionally thank God for what’s less than perfect. And at the same time we keep pressing toward the vision he’s placed in our hearts.
We live in the paradox.
We release our expectations and yet we continue to look to the future with expectation.
One mile, one day, one dream at a time.
Yes, all the way Home.
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