Do you have hopes and dreams? Do you remember having them as a kid? Maybe you had hopes of playing baseball with your dad and growing up to be just like him; a hero in your mind. Maybe you had dreams of being married with the traditional white picket fence with 2.5 children. Maybe you had dreams of being a teacher, attorney or a ballet dancer. Did your dreams come true? Maybe you never had dreams as a kid at all.
Kids sometimes have to grow up very fast for a variety of reasons. There may have been abuse, a parent with additions, neglect, or abandonment. Maybe your parents didn’t know how to just let you be a kid of innocence, hopes and dreams. What happened to that little boy/girl you were meant to be?
Many times, as adults, living with shattered hopes and dreams, we get so caught up trying to survive day to day that we don’t allow ourselves to look into what our future could look like. In doing that, we may miss out on what God has planned for us.
A good process is to examine your old patterns of thoughts and behavior, examine what you were and what you want to become, reflect on the influences you have in your life and how they may be affecting you. Then you can allow yourself to look at your dreams for the future and find a way to achieve them as the Lord leads you. Remember that just because you have a dream doesn’t mean it is God’s plan for you. Be wide open to His leading and let Him guide your path.
It is important to look forward and not dwell on the past. It is, in essence, “looking out of the windshield instead of the rear view mirror”. Think about that for a moment…If you were driving a car and all you did was look out the rearview mirror, you would bump into things, run off the road or could be fatally injured. If all you did was look out of the windshield and never check your rear view mirror, you may be hit from behind or not see a potential problem coming up.
The same thing goes in our lives. If we just look at our past and live in its issues, we cannot move forward in safety and strength. If we only look forward, but not remember what was before, we could fall back into the same traps and patterns we were in. The past needs to be dealt with, but not completely forgotten. It is part of who we are, but it doesn’t have to have power over us as we “drive away from it”.
No matter how old we are, there is always room for change and improvement. This doesn’t mean we can never be content, but it does mean that we should continually strive to become more like Christ, living life to the fullest, using the gifts and talents He has given to us for His glory.
We need to stop comparing ourselves to other flawed human beings, whether it is how we look, how much we have materially, where we fit in and IF we fit in. The question is… “Are we pleasing to the Lord and living up to His plan for us”? Now, THAT is the best life we could every live!
Look at the issues you see that need to change in your life, acknowledge them, accept them and then take steps of action to change them. Seek counsel, go to a support group, go to a Bible study about living a Godly life, but before anything, seek the face of God and ask Him to guide you and then follow His Holy Spirit’s leading.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2