It was just a dream
You are the head of a major company; you started a successful business; you acted in a major movie; you are writing books helping thousands of people. You are bursting with excitement, and you are at peace. Suddenly, you woke up, you remember and think that would be nice. You look around; life stares back at you. You remember the bills or problems you are currently facing; you shrug and think, “oh, but that (dream) will never happen to me”. It was just a dream. Or was it?
What are dreams?
A dream is a series of thoughts, visions, or feelings during sleep. Or to think about something that you wish would happen or something that you want to do or be.
For this post, dreams are ideas, goals, desires, visions, and dreams (awake or asleep) that God inspires. I believe everybody gets them. We get small everyday ideas and sometimes great visions. But not all dreams are from God. So, how do we know if a dream is from God? Here is my story…
I had a dream
It was not as grand as Martin Luther King Jr’s dream (haha). But many of us are able to live our dreams because he did his part.
In high school, I wanted to get a PhD (among other goals), I did not just want to go to college. Never mind that I knew no one with a PhD at that time. Never mind that I had no father (he died when I was five years old) or that we lived in rural Jamaica with no money (for the dreams I had). I saw myself graduating with a PhD. I kept these thoughts and went about my life as usual.
A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
Stay focused on the dream
I did an undergraduate degree, but I didn’t attend my graduation. I got a decent job, at a scientific research institution (in Jamaica) and started traveling for this job; I like it.
Mingling with participants from Indonesia and Ethiopia for a workshop in Tromsø, Norway.
The dream came again. I did a master’s degree, in England this time. I did not attend my graduation. Why? Because neither achievement was the dream. Focus. Please don’t do this; celebrate your small wins. Anyhow, it motivated me. In my mind, I would not celebrate until I saw the completion of the dream.
Having fun with friends from India and Spain. The London Eye, England.
After the master’s degree, I went back to work for the same company in Jamaica for several years learning and doing science, managing projects, writing, and traveling more; I love this.
Visited the United Nations Headquarters for an international collaboration. Vienna, Austria.
Visited Uxmal after an international workshop. Yucatán, Mexico.
I learned a lot in biotechnology, agriculture, international policies and agreements and met interesting people from around the world. I enjoyed this. The dream came again. This time it seemed inconvenient. I felt like it was time to “settle” down (don’t settle). At the same time, I started to get bored with that job. I liked learning, traveling, and meeting new people. But now I felt like I wanted something else, something… new. Perhaps the PhD is the door to that. Furthermore, I wanted my mom to attend at least one of my graduations. Hmmm…
See next post to see what happened.
2 Responses
Some people dreams come through
Yes, they do. Your dreams can come through too.