Dream a New Dream

I have learned that we all have dreams.  It doesn't matter what age we are, or what stage of life we are in.  We each have a dream for today or the future as we want it to be.  We each look at our lives and hope to change or add something to it.  That is the really amazing thing about life.  No matter what we have done yesterday or today, our story is not over.  Any single one of us can start today and re-write the ending of our own story.  We can decide who we are going to become. 
Life is amazing.  I have a friend who I would never have thought would ever embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  She has had lots of reasons to never be involved.  Her family does not support her decision.  She had to wait until she was old enough that she could live on her own.  She joined the church in spite of her parents wishes.  It has been years since that decision was made and she still has no contact with her family.  They disowned her when she was baptized.  She had to leave the country of her birth and come to America where she started over.  She married in the Temple and has children today who have never known their grandparents.  As far as she knows, they never will.
She had a dream, she chose to follow that dream in spite of the consequences.  And there were definitely consequences. 
I think we all have dreams.  Whether or not we fulfill them depends, to an extent, on what we are willing to do to bring them to pass.  What are we willing to give up?  I have a daughter who wanted to be out of debt.  She wanted it bad enough that she was willing to live very frugally in order to make it happen.  She did without new things, she lived on a very strict budget, but today, she has brought that dream to pass.  Now they are saving for their own home.  I am so impressed with her willingness to sacrifice what she wants right now, for something that is so much better. 
I included the words to one of my favorite ABBA songs.  I have always loved it because it reminds me that the time really is right for me.  May we all have something that we have dreamed of happen in our lives.  May we all be willing to sacrifice what we want right now for our dreams of later.  May we feel loved and blessed even when we fail.  May we realize that the destination makes it all worth while. 

I Have a Dream

ABBA

I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream, I have a dream

I have a dream, a fantasy
To help me through reality
And my destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness
Still another mile
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream, I have a dream

I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream, I have a dream
I'll cross the stream, I have a dream

The Rear View Mirror

I think that I spend way too much time looking in the rear view mirror.  I look back because times were hard. I look back because times were happy.  I look back because times are sad.  I look back, and back again.  I am not sure what is so tempting about looking back. 
Yes, I was younger then.  Yes, my children were small, and cute, and cuddly.  Yes, there were good times then.  Yes I had to learn and grow and live and love and learn some more. 
Sometimes I dwell on the past.  Mostly on the could have, would have and should have part of it.  I ponder on what I can do to change it.  (That answer is always nothing).  I want to do whatever it takes to right those wrongs, or change the path. 
The past is not what is important though.  No matter how many good times were there, or even how many bad ones, the most important place I can be is in the here and now.  It is here that I will develop the relationships for the future.  It is here that I can make a difference in the life of another.  It is here that I can start to change and become who I want to be. 
The window into eternity is big and bright with promise.  This life is but an instant.  It is just a couple minutes in the eternities.  I spend all this time worrying and fretting over a couple of moments in my life! 
So today, I am looking through the windshield and moving on.  The future is right there in front of me, His light leads me onward and His promises have always been sure.  And so today, I take my eyes of the mirror and look ahead, through the glass and toward the future.