Have you ever had a dream? This is not an actual dream that occurs when you are in a deep sleep, but a dream to DO something or BE somebody. Those types of dreams often come to us and we quickly dismiss them as unattainable. Why is it that something so beautiful as a life-long dream is met with such discouragement within our own souls and minds?
When I was a young teenager I loved the arts, but almost flunked out of core classes—mainly Math and Science. I liked History, but my love was Language Arts and Band. When you are a sad person, your heart can very easily retreat into the world of writing and playing music. My Language Arts teacher had the reputation of being a hard nose, but I appreciated her for her constant encouragement to put together a story in the correct way and she instilled in me the love of poetry. She entered a few of my poems and short stories into a district competition held at the local college. The judges awarded me 2nd place for one of my poems. I was very excited and my dream of being a writer began that very day. One day I would write a romance novel and it would be in all the book stores.
The years have come and gone. And I retired from 35 years of service working at the Federal Government. The Lord blessed me with a wonderful career and retirement pension. Just before I retired, I started planning what my retirement life would look like. What would I do every day? My dream of writing a novel resurfaced and I began formulating the story in my head.
Just as the years had come and gone, so had my relationship with God. My husband and I had not been to church in 7 years and our relationship was suffering because of it. Through a series of events we went back to our former church and I found myself at a concert that evening. The Holy Spirit hovered over the sanctuary and began filling my heart and soul.
The Spirit of God is very significant, and we see it show up in the second verse of Genesis 1.
Genesis 1 New International Version (NIV)
“1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
God wants us to know that the Holy Spirit is real and is a part of Him and has been from the very beginning. After Christ’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension, The Holy Spirit was sent to dwell within us. Jesus tells His disciples in the book of John that the Holy Spirit will come to be with them after He is no longer with them.
John 14:26 New International Version (NIV)
“26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
The Holy Spirit descended upon me the night of that concert. And He came to me in a dream the following night. And in that dream there was a song being sung. It was a beautiful song of worship. God woke me up from the dream and told me to get up and write the words of the song down so I would not forget them. He came to me in dreams four times in the course of a week with different aspects of the song. And on the last day of the week, the song was complete.
This changed all the plans I had for my retirement days. I went on to get the song recorded before I retired. While I was waiting for the song to be finished. God told me to write a book about it. So, I did. While I was still waiting, He told me to keep writing. So, I did. I wrote some children’s books.
God made it very clear. I had led my own life up to this point and despite that, He blessed me. “Now,” He said, “I have a plan for you. See what I can do.”
I finished writing the novel I dreamed of as a teenager. It’s a romantic suspense novel. It still sits in manuscript form to remind me of my past and my disobedience to God.
Psalm 37:4 New International Version (NIV)
“4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
But now I delight in the Lord. I am amazed that He has led me to Christian writing. It brings me such joy. And the joy of the Lord is my strength.
God took my dream and molded it with His plan for me and is turning it into His masterpiece.
What is your dream? Have you put it on a shelf thinking it can never happen? Do you think it is too big for you? Fall in love with the Lord and ask Him to fulfill your dreams. I’ll be waiting to hear where God takes you.
Blessings y’all.
Annette Burrell
CHM Contributor
