The other day, after my kids had been moving the radio dial, I was left with the radio playing on ‘their’ station, with the Spice Girls singing out :
“I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want”
and it lasted, playing over and over and over again, in my head ALL DAY LONG!
That was the down side (and I banned my kids from changing the radio station in the van for a week), but there was an up side to this song being on repeat in my subconscious. It made me ask the question :
what do I really, really want?
On the heels of yesterday’s post, A Note to Myself, I am obviously in a contemplative mood this week!
I think it is always a good idea to consider what we really, really want from our lives. Doing so gives us the opportunity to reflect and dream about the days, and years to come.
When we are children we are constantly dreaming of the future :
– what is up that tree?
– will there be dessert after I eat my vegetables?
– how many days until Christmas? my birthday? vacation?
– how many days until I start school?
Then, when we are teens the dreaming grows and intensifies :
– I cannot wait until summer vacation!
– I cannot wait to be in twelfth grade!
– I cannot wait to be done twelfth grade!
– I cannot wait to be in college/university!
As a young adult there is more dreaming :
– I cannot wait to own my own car
– I cannot wait to have my dream job
– I cannot wait to own my own house
– I cannot wait to marry
As an adult who is married with children we begin dreaming for ourselves and others :
– I cannot wait until this baby is born
– I cannot wait until this baby sleeps through the night
– I cannot wait until date night!
– I cannot wait until the kids start school
Then we reach this mid-life stage and dreaming of the future becomes a little foggy … maybe because we see where the next half eventually ends.
Even so, this is a great time of life to dream new dreams, start fresh adventures, try something new, take chances.
The book of Joel (2:28) tells us :
“And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men (and youthful but aging women) will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.”
Dreaming is for the older, the more mature. Maybe it is because, as we get to the midway point we have enough experience to be better able to dream because we have had the experiences of dreams that came true, and dreams that crashed and burned. We know not to count on our dreams, but we also know how dreams give us direction, motivation and a spring in our step. At the same time, we know we have more limits on our time, which can provide the urgency to work to make the dream a reality.
And so, let us dream! Working towards the goals in this life that we really, really want, and in doing so perhaps we will also be fulfilling the plan God has for us in this life.
itsawonderfilledlife 