Dream Declaration Time

It is nearly New Years Day.  Soon the conversation starters will be in the form of questions regarding New Years Resolutions.  People will want to know if you have made any and everyone will be wondering if they will finally be able to keep theirs.  In sheer defiance, I have refused to make such resolutions the last couple of years.

A few years ago, I attended a small New Year's party hosted by my friend Alpha.  We lit candles and wrote down what we wanted to say good bye to from last year.  Habits we had formed and wanted to change.  Struggles we were ready to move past.  We wrote down things that we didn't like that had been part of our lives in that year on little slips of paper.  We then read them to each other and burned them.

When we were finished we talked about what we wanted to bring into our lives the next year.  Things we hoped for and dreamt about and things opposite of what we had just let go of and burned.  I plan to dream some big dreams and declare them rather than make resolutions.  I like this quote as it embodies the direction I want to take rather than make resolutions that fail by February.

 Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
Henry David Thoreau

I know that I will be asked what I am going to declare and what my dreams are.  I haven't gotten that far yet.  I don't want to declare the obvious hopes but rather I want to think up dreams that extend beyond my circumstance.  I am not done living yet.  Cancer is not my life.  I have said it before but it bears repeating.  It is not my color, my identity, my journey, my bumper sticker, my cause, my war, the battle I have chosen or even what I spend my day focusing on.  My dreams are big and crowd it out.  It is a reality in my life currently, but God willing, that will not always be the case.

I had a huge light bulb moment with another friend of mine Rachel when we attended Pathways in Dallas, Texas.  We realized that all of the dreams we had for ourselves were so small.  We limited ourselves because we thought so small and didn't even take into consideration how God saw us.  As we limited ourselves we forgot that He makes all things possible.  We pledged then and there to dream bigger than we could fathom for ourselves.  Dream your dreams as the calendar page flips for you this year end and then make it bigger.  When it scares you then you are getting close. 

I leave you tonight with one more quote.

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
Harriet Tubman

Susan