I Just Got Back From Africa

Sometimes I find myself still unpacking from my trip to Africa

If you find me in a distracted state of mind, then you may have caught me in the middle of it.  Don't blame me.....I just got back from Africa.  It's a place that I travel back to every day.  If you have ever been there you know what I am talking about.  If you have seen God's people hurting and want to help, you go back to the emotional connection you had while there and replay the scenario over and over again.  Scanning your brain's horizon, it's easy to go back in your mind, and think about bringing hope again.    


Sometimes, like the the other day, God nudged me and mentioned that it was ok to recover my dreams.  His soothing voice was like a waterfall of grace.  "I gave them to you, why would I abandon you in them?  Dream a little....it's okay".


Do you have those those wishful and whimsical wishes that you are afraid to write down for fear that they will never come true?   Those thoughts about a life you have been carrying around since you were a little girl, wishfully thinking someday it must might come true?  


It was hard to see those little African kids who didn't have dreams.  Their whole existence is moderated by the question..where and when will they eat?  They have lost their dreams somewhere in the middle of their little messy lives, in their poverty and in being alone. One child was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up....he said "old".  What a heart-wrenching answer to a harsh reality.    


When I trust God for my hopes and dreams, it doesn't make me weak, no...it makes me depend more on God.  From my prayer journal.."The dreams I give you require Me to help you.  You have no idea how they will work out but I do.  Rest in the fact that I have your dreams, your hopes, and the desires of your heart close.  I will not laugh at you or toss them in the wind.  They are important to me too.  And the more you trust the more you will see Me.  The more you see Me the more you see how I can work them in you, to make your dreams come true.  No matter what...I am the Dream-maker, and that's all you need to know."  


Oh...I hear Africa calling my name again.....and I unpack a little more.