The dream we choose to pursue will, of necessity, direct our focus…

The dream we choose to pursue will, of necessity, direct our focus.

I believe in the power of dreams. As a teacher, I want children to dream big dreams for their futures. As a pastor, I want our church to dream big — to dream of the many ways that God can use us to reach our world. As a mother, I’ve tried to instill huge dreams — no, enormous, gargantuan dreams in my boys.

I believe in the power of dreaming, of dreaming big, of dreaming beyond our ability to accomplish the dream; I believe in the power of that kind of dream.

I don’t want people to dream dreams and then wait for them to magically appear before them already fulfilled. I want people to dream dreams, to count the cost, and to run full-tilt toward the fulfillment of their most powerful desire.

But first, I want them to dream carefully. For me — for mine, that means that I want them to dream the dream that God has placed within them. As they dream that kind of a dream, as they pursue the dream that comes from that source, THEN I believe there can be success. There can be victory. A dream fulfilled. A life changed. A better world.

But even more than these things, there will be growth.

You see, a person who dreams a God-sized dream will need to count the cost; they will need to pay the price.

Everyone makes choices. These choices are a part of paying the price — of counting the cost. I wanted to be a wife and a mom, but I also wanted to sing. I had to choose. I could not have the kind of life that a professional singer lives and still have a successful marriage and be the kind of mother I knew I needed to be. There was a cost. I was willing to pay the price for the dream I prized more highly.

Athletes pay the price daily for their dream. They train and make healthy choices. Decisions are made to get out of bed and take that run or go to the gym — this is part of paying the price, of counting the cost for their dreams.

Things worth having are worth the cost.

We are like many others in the world today — we have student debt. For us, the cost was worth it to pursue our dream of ministry and for me to pursue my dream to also be a teacher.

These were both God-sized dreams that had been placed in our hearts. They were costly dreams. Even now, there are still costs. We don’t own a home — we live in the home that is provided for us — and we are thankful for these homes, whatever and wherever they may be. Someday we will retire and we will not have a nest in which to spend our retirement years — unless we buy one, that is. Oh yes, that is another dream with a price attached.

For many young people, some within our family, the cost of pursuing their dream — college — has precluded their involvement in the events and activities that will allow them to actually achieve their dream. For many, the cost is simply too high. Others have completed, or nearly completed, the training and education necessary to pursue the dream, but because of the circumstances of our economy and our world, they cannot afford to pay for the cost of the dream. Or, to pay for the dream, they must sacrifice the time that our generation spent “paying our dues” to be able to achieve the dream. My heart breaks for those who find themselves in this kind of a position.

It seems to be an impossible situation. And for them, I know that it is.

But I still believe in dreaming.

I still believe in paying the cost for the dream.

As a sophomore in high school, I attended a small, private, Christian high school in New Mexico. It was started by two teachers in an old Lutheran church. By every stretch of the imagination it was a dream that should not have succeeded. Yet today, it is a thriving Christian School with its own campus and hundreds of students.

At our first chapel service, I looked at the front of the room and saw a felt banner that read, “Attempt something so big that unless God is in it, it is doomed to fail.” That, my friends, is the definition of a God-sized dream.

We cannot let the cost of a dream keep us from dreaming. We must seek to dream — to dream big, huge, gigantic, enormous dreams.

We NEED God-sized dreams. For by dreaming them, by pursuing them, and by following Him, we become more like Him. Our faith grows. He does things we never could have imagined. And as a result, the world is forever changed.

Dreams are costly; we should dream on.