4 years in

It’s human nature to take things for granted and forget about how the Lord has worked to develop our dreams. 

4 years in and I’m literally living day to day what I always dreamed about. I’ve come to a conclusion about life recently, and it’s heightened since realizing the anniversary of my dream. The revelation of life is this: what an odd thing to dream about the future, and suddenly catch up to your dream. What happens when after planning and awaiting you’re suddenly there? We dream and we dream and we dream. We work towards our dream and plan for our dream and pray for our dream. Then one day we reach that dream and suddenly our dream is our new normal. Life gets stationary. It’s so easy to get caught up in the routine day to day, the pulse of life that sweeps us up in the waves of progression and bills and sales. It’s a paradox, too: dreams tarnish right before our eyes, but we don’t recognize it because the world keeps moving, and we must keep up. 

The beauty of dreams, though, is they are only tarnished. They may be dulled but they’re not different. Dreams can be rediscovered, recognized again, lived out fully and purposefully now, new dreams can be provoked and built upon. Dreams can be polished. 

Human nature keeps us inclined to get distracted and defeated, to forget the accomplishments we’ve achieved so far, and forget the joy and excitement in pursuing more, dreaming bigger. I want to always remember to be content but never complacent. 

My dream of moving to Tennessee carried me from 12 to 21. I moved to southeast Tennessee after 9 years of yearning for it. And, I’ve been here 4 years to the day. It still charms me and I’m still humbled by God’s grace and goodness that placed me here. I literally feel like I’m living my dream when I drive the curve of a backroad. But there are days I forget. I get swept up in the busyness and the dissatisfaction and the burnout. It’s time to polish.