Do you have a God-sized dream?

Do you have a God-sized dream?

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord…"

Jeremiah 29:11a

First of all, what makes a dream God-sized? I think it’s a dream that requires reliance on God.  A God-sized dream goes beyond our natural abilities, yet utilizes them at the same time  A God-sized dream grows our abilities, gifts, talents and allows us to go places and do things we never could without Him.

I attended a bi-annual Women’s Spiritual Life Day many years ago, when my children were small. Every Fall and Spring the spiritual refreshment and nurturing drew me to this wonderful day. I was also delighted to share in fellowship with other women, especially knowing my kids were being well cared for by the beautiful faith-filled sisters of the hosting deaconry.   

I was so young, literally and spiritually. 

And I was hungry to learn more about God, while having some time away from the multitudes of diapers and to-dos that encompassed my life, day in and day out.

Don’t get me wrong. I loved this life as a young mom. But it sure was fun to have a breather and blessings rolled into one!

One of these day-long retreats featured Elisabeth Elliot. Now 86, this prolific writer and renowned speaker drew an overflowing crowd of one thousand. I was in awe of this graceful, almost soft-spoken, yet powerful pillar of faith. Elisabeth and her husband served together as missionaries in Ecuador. Her husband, Jim Elliot, was speared to death by the people they were trying to reach. After her husbands death, Elisabeth stayed on in Ecuador with her 10-month-old daughter, eventually befriending the tribe.

During a prayerful moment at Women’s Spiritual Life Day, I shut my eyes and had a vision. I may have visibly shaken my head trying to dismiss the ridiculous picture that was in my mind’s eye: Instead of Elisabeth up at the podium, I saw myself. I was embarrassed at such a lofty thought. What the heck? What was I thinking? I sure hoped no one could read my mind. I’d be laughed right out of the auditorium and judged a fool for having the audacity to picture such nonsense.

Of course, I didn’t tell anyone about this. 

Who did I think I was? What would I ever have worth sharing? Who would ever come to hear me speak? Let’s just file that one away forever…

Before I knew it, I was starting to speak publicly through the ministry of Moms In Prayer (formerly Moms In Touch). Sometimes I was speaking to just a handful of women. But, eventually, as the coordinator of the first Moms In Prayer Northeast Regional Retreat featuring Founder and President Fern Nichols, I was speaking in front of a crowd of 175+ women. I loved it, but couldn’t help asking about myself, “Who is that woman speaking up there???”

About ten years ago, we had the honor of hosting Fern Nichols in our area once again. She had a few speaking engagements…and one of them was at the Women’s Spiritual Life Day! I was asked to introduce her. So there I was, exactly as I had pictured those many years before, standing before a crowd of women at the very podium where Elisabeth Elliot had stood.

While I haven’t spoken in front of a crowd of over 1000, I have spoken many times now before small and large groups that might even add up to many thousands.  

There was something to that little vision…

I didn’t know it at the time, but God did. Our God is true to His word. He does more than we can ask or imagine. He birthed my dream to speak to women, share my story, my desire to share something that might make a difference in someone’s life.

As the Brendan Heath song Wait and See says, “God’s not finished with me yet…” And He's not finished with you yet either.

What’s your God-sized dream?

Come on over to Holley Gerth's to read about lots of other God-sized Dreams!

photo credit: visualpanic via photopin cc