The Power of a dream

 Martin Luther King, Jr. touched the soul of America with his "I have a dream" speech in which he talked about a time when racial differences would be set aside, and all people could come together. We are a long away from seeing that dream fulfilled, but as a nation we have come a long way since Dr. King shared his dream.

Dreams have power to touch people's hearts. They can show us the ways things could be, the way things ought to be. They give us a vision of a preferred future. Although dreams by themselves cannot change anything, nothing much worthwhile happens without a dream.

How long has it been since you had a dream? I'm not talking about the dreams that cause you to wake up at night. I'm referring to the kind of dreams that point toward a different future, a better future. Isn't it funny that as children we spent a lot of time dreaming. We dreamed about what we wanted to do when we were grown up, the kind of work we would do, the person we would marry, where we would live and many more dreams. For some reason, as adults we quit dreaming. We settle. We accept mediocrity. We lose the ability to dream which also means we lose the ability to grow.

This can be true of our careers. I think of the Dolly Parton movie "Nine to Five." Most of the workers settled to live mundane lives committed to mundane careers. Not Dolly and her friends. They had a dream. They were determined to advance their careers, and through a series of comedic events they did just that.

It can be true of marriage. I've never known a young couple getting married who were excited about settling down for a boring life together. Yet, it happens all too often. A marriage filled with dreams about the future often falls into a rut and ends with two people sharing an address but not a life.

Finally, it can be true of a church. Every church began because someone or a group of people had a dream for a church in their community. Over time, the original dreams are forgotten and everyone settles in to become part of an organization. They keep the rules. They follow the church constitution. They refer to the past years of the church as "the good old days" when the building was full and people's lives were being changed, but they do nothing to recapture that excitement. If they do try to do something, quite often they simply repeat what worked back them rather than seeking God's dreams for the church today.

I encourage you to begin to dream. Dream about what your marriage could be like. Dream about what your career could look like. Dream about what your church could become once again. Then, begin to put together a plan for how to make that dream a reality.