Dreaming Again?

Today is a raining and cloudy day in the Pacific Northwest but those clouds are also amazing!  They come down off the mountains and joined the land below like wispy curtains over a window.  On top of a wonderful view, I’m headed up to farmland country where there are mountains and barns galore!  Something about that touches something deep inside of me, and not for the first time, my soul longs for country living.

Have you ever dreamed about something and felt like its ok to dream, but it probably won’t ever happen?  I used to feel THAT was as far as it would ever go.  But not anymore.  I have seen God do some amazing things in this life time of mine and I want to keep expecting he can do it again with my desire to move to the country.  But what will that look like to me, and what does that look like for God?  Yes…two different things possibly.  It may also mean not getting to live in the country at all!  There is a reason and purpose for where we are.  However, one of the lessons I am learning is, as in this case, I may not be living in the country as I would like, but I can make where I AM, more country.  I have an environment in my home that speaks to that.  I have things around me that give me pleasure and speak to a lifetime of memories.  I’m kind of old-fashioned gal anyway, so my home environment has always had a vintage feel or country farm-house feel to it.  I grew up on a small farm and loved the freedom of it as a child.  I learned a lot working alongside my dad taking care of animals, feeding calves and milking cows, and slopping the hogs of which we had two.  My house is home to the lantern and scale that hung in our barn for as long as I can remember.  I have made it work in my home and it is just a little more of that “little bit of country” that is so calming for me.

I can remember in school always looking out the window.  It helped me think.  Clarified somethings for me.  But I’m sure my teacher thought that I was day dreaming.  But these days I would say, whatever your dream is, pray over it.  Talk to God about it.  Be open for the changes He may desire to make in how that might look.  I remember telling God that I would be willing to expand my territory and prayed that every day.  He sent me to Missouri, which I would never have considered on my own! It meant leaving everything and everyone I knew!   So be ready for whatever He has for you and remember it may not look like you are thinking it should.  In fact, it probably won’t!  A piece of advice about dreams that I have found:  I came to the realization that I am not the center of the universe.  Whoohooo!!!  Revelation time!  God is the one that has a plan for me from the beginning and often times the plan He has for me is something I might even be ignoring for whatever reasons.  So, when you think of dreams, think of what you are passionate about and when you do that thing, times flies by and you don’t even realize it.  Pray for God to give you a view of THAT kind of dream and He will guide you to it.  It may seem like you are jumping off a cliff, but His arms are there to catch you.  If your dream seems bigger that you?  Then you know it’s God because we can’t do what we do without Him, or the gifts and talents He has given us.  Dreams do not have to be about a house, where you live, or what you own.  It may be that your family lives for God.  Start praying for those dreams. Don’t give up!  There is always something to learn.  For me right now, that is in being content.  Contentment is peace and that is what I’m seeking EVEN IF I never get to the country.  🙂

I’m learning to be content with where I am.  That means:

• I DO have a home that is my own, SO THAT, I can and should be thankful for that
• I live on a noisy corner, BUT I have a view of the tip of Mt. Baker
• I have to often trade cars around to use them, BUT we have two cars
• I hear horns honking and squealing of tires in the middle of the night or sirens, BUT I can say a few quick prayers before going to sleep again and we are close to help
• I live with a kitchen that is not for set up for someone who likes to cook and bake, BUT I do have great appliances that I can use and I can re-organize
• I may have disappointments, BUT I can pray more about what God DOES have for me yet to do
• I can have gratitude no matter what

See the pattern?  We can learn gratitude in everything and live in contentment.  Take time to learn what God has for you to learn during your waiting time.  Pray and listen as the Lord speaks to you and allow the words that you hear to bring you into a deeper relationship with the One who can teach us what only He can teach us.

Be prepared.  Be ready.  Something great could be about to happen!

Walking the journey with you…

~JoAnn