It’s not unusual to dream and imagine the many possibilities for our life. And often we sense these are deep and God given dreams – not merely passing interests or wishful thinking. But it’s still helpful to consider how we interpret these, as the dream might be more mythic and eternal rather than literal and immediate.
To be sure, many times our dreams provide a concrete vision for us to move toward in life. We dream of the particular job, relationship, and life we want to have and take intentional steps to make these desires a reality.
And naturally there’s much heartache and grief if these dreams don’t come true. And we might even start to question ourselves and God’s goodness. I missed my opportunity because there must be something wrong with me. Or perhaps God cannot be trusted with the deep desires of my heart.
Often our frustrations are due to a misinterpretation of the dream. And it’s not necessarily that we didn’t see clearly, but we misunderstood how the dream was going to work itself out.
This happens, for instance, when we make the dream more literal rather than mythical or symbolic. For example, we might dream of becoming a medical doctor, but we quickly realize we don’t have the skill or gifting for this profession. It’s possible the dream was pointing more to a calling as a healer rather than entering the medical profession itself. The dream makes more sense when we can consider the possibility of it simply being representative of a deeper reality.
Our finite timeline can also cloud our understanding. We were created for eternity and it’s possible our dream today is not for this lifetime, but rather a small glimpse into the life we will live without end.
In the end, continue to dream and dream big. But learn to see with mythical eyes and in light of eternity. The deep dreams of your heart might not be as literal or finite as first assumed.
