I’ve prayed most of my life, saved sentimental items, dreamed, and journaled. So, when I cleaned my storage a few years ago, I should not have been surprised at what I found. But I was. Immensely.

I discovered a list I had written in college, of dreams I hoped to accomplish some day. I had numbered and listed them down the page. As I read each dream, I mentally checked off which ones I’d accomplished over the years. As I moved down the list, my jaw dropped. I was speechless nearing the end, as all my dreams had come true except a couple. And this was no short list.

A few I remember were to run a marathon. Check. Write Children’s books. Check. Get married. Check. Obtain a master’s degree. Check. Vacation in Hawaii. Check. As I kept reading, a few thoughts immediately came to my mind. First, why hadn’t I dreamed bigger? I mean, if I covered these dreams in prayer, which I most likely did, and truly hoped to accomplish them, why didn’t I reach further, dream bigger, stretch higher?

Secondly, what happens when my list is complete? This thought produced sweat on my brow. I folded the list, tucked it away, and shut the box. Was this some type of bucket list in which God would take me up when it was finished? Mission accomplished? I didn’t want to know and to this day, I still can’t remember the last of my unfulfilled dreams written on that paper back in my college days. But I know one thing. I started a new list. I scrawled out any dreams that came to mind, so that, if by chance my other list was complete, I’d still have this list to work on.

My final thought was Wow! God must have been in all those dreams and helped me to accomplish them because I didn’t keep this list taped to the wall all these years, manually checking them off. He must have embedded His desires, His dreams for me, deep in my heart that pushed me to pursue them. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Could this mean He’ll continue to place within me, the desires of my heart, of His heart?

I know that He helped me accomplished those dreams as I could not have done any of them on my own. I don’t know why He gave me those dreams in particular and all the other dreams listed that I can’t even recall or what they mean in His kingdom. I may never know. But I learned this that day…

God is in our dreams. Some He’ll help bring to fruition, others may be left unfulfilled. But, dreaming keeps us praying, trusting, pursuing, and believing. I’ll keep praying for God’s dreams for me, keep stretching, keep following the desires of my heart that God places there. Some may not make sense, may seem too small, too big, or too outrageous. Some will be met, others not. But that’s okay. They’re God’s dreams. And we never know where God’s dreams may take us, right? Perhaps I’ll write them down, pray over them, tuck them away, and enjoy the adventure.

So, what are your dreams? I’d love to know! Share them below – dreams you’ve accomplished and those you are still pursuing!

Here are two new books encouraging your children to dream big, work hard, and trust God. Available for pre-order. Click on the books.