Dream for You

 "So let go of your plan

Be caught by my hand

I'll show you what I can do

When I dream for you" ~  "Dream for You"-Casting Crowns

    I recently became engaged, and even though I absolutely love my fiancee, the experience isn't exactly how I dreamed it would be. I'm older than I thought I would be when I got married, my fiancee's not like what I pictured my future husband would look like, and I met him online instead of in person. However, other aspects are the way I dreamed. We share the same faith and political views, and very quickly developed inside jokes that leave those around us shaking their heads. We have been very good for each other these past seven months, and we get along so well that some people thought we were married long before he even proposed. I fully believe that God knew what he was doing when he brought us together, even if it didn't happen quite the way I imagined. 

    As I mentioned in some earlier posts, this is not the first time my dreams haven't come true in quite the way I envisioned. After dreaming of being a teacher since the time I was seven, I failed student teaching twice and ended up working as a para at an elementary school. However, even though some people might think I am "just a para", my coworkers have never seen me that way, and they won't allow me to see myself that way either. I may not have a teaching license, but I have made an impact on many students' lives, and I know that I will continue to do so. A teaching license isn't a requirement for helping students fulfill their potential or reminding them of their worth.

    The song quoted above gives two examples of Biblical people who had their plans changed by God: David and Mary. David was just a kid when God called him to be the next king of Israel. He was seen as so unimportant that he wasn't even invited to the sacrifice with his brothers! Yet he would go on to do great things to further God's kingdom, beginning with defeating a giant with just a sling and a stone. Among all the great people in the Scriptures, he is the only one described as a man after God's own heart. 

    Mary was just a teenager betrothed to a carpenter from her village when God called her to be the mother of Jesus. She faced the potential dangers of being an unwed mother because of her faithfulness,  but her only question was how she would become pregnant. Mary accepting God's dream for her has brought salvation to us all.

     These two examples are far from the only ones found in the Bible of people's lives turning out vastly different than they imagined, and there have been even more throughout history. God sees everything and knows everything, so he understands us even better than we understand ourselves. Proverbs 16:9 states, "The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps." To me, this means that no matter what we may plan, God will guide us in the way He wants us to go, even if it's different than what we imagined. However, he will never lead us to a place where he won't protect us and equip us to do His will. There's a saying that "if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." He wants us to have plans, but His plans for us are so much better than ours could ever be.