Your Plans My Dreams
As I shared a few posts ago, recently I have begun praying that God would make His plans my dreams. That He would capture my heart and my attention and focus and goals and plant His plans for me in them so that I am always pursuing what He has for me to do!
And all of a sudden, out of the blue, I find myself considering the possibility of buying a historic home and having it fixed up! To have the realization of such a precious dream to me so close, so possible, is just incredible to me! It would be the most extraordinary thing ever (so far!)! The largest project and the most intimidating and frightening – but the potential is just unbelievable! I feel like this opportunity is directly from God!
In the Beginning
The first day or so that this opportunity was introduced to me my thoughts were all “yeah maybe, can’t imagine”. But the possibility seemed vague, unreal really. So many questions arose involving repairs and zoning and regulations. Who was I to consider this? What experience or expertise do I have in the home-buying area?
Wow, I thought, so many unknowns and questions. I wish I knew if it would work out so I knew whether to get my hopes up or not. Because you know the world is always reminding us “don’t get your hopes up and then you won’t be disappointed!”.
It rather reminds me of relationships and how cautious we can be to fully be ourselves. We don’t want to get hurt because people might not be comfortable with who we really are (or some such).
But the truth of the matter is, we should be confident in who God has made us to be and not hide our proverbial lights under a bushel! Show deference and intelligence, yes, but don’t try to suppress who you are! We are each of us uniquely beautiful created by a truly remarkable God! What better way to show Him our love and gratitude than by fully appreciating and being who He created us to be?!
Get Your Hopes Up
We need to get our hopes up, to love deeply and live our lives fully! We need to open ourselves up so that we can bloom beautifully and be all that God has created us to be!
I realize the little voice in my head, that cautioning, “don’t get your hopes up”, was distracting me from what I knew to be true. I know that God’s Word says to be hopeful in Him! And what better way to do this than to hope in the opportunities He brings along and the dreams He places inside of us?!
All of this is so exciting, the realization of a dream. But then reality comes along and I find myself wondering, but what if this doesn’t work out. What if nothing comes of all this?
Then I remember another Bible verse – something I am memorizing right now in Philippians – God promises that if we will keep Him as our focus, He will give us peace that surpasses comprehension. Such gentle, all-encompassing peace – beyond comprehension! And I find that so incredibly reassuring!
This incredible opportunity in the form of a historic house that seems to be calling my name may pass away but I have no reason to be concerned or fear it. God’s got this – and even more than that He will give me peace – no matter the outcome!
Make His Plans Your Dreams
So get your hopes up!
Really hope for and pray for God’s will, yes definitely, most importantly. But also pray that He would guide your desires, that they would be what He has planned for you so that you have every reason to have your hopes up! And know that if things don’t work out as you might have hoped, He does give you the grace to be good with that situation. He gives you the grace to accept that peace.
The grace is free and bountiful for the taking, but you must have the attitude, the positive, loving, accepting attitude that just says, “Yes, Lord. I wanted something but I know that You know best, so I will take it gracefully and move on. Your will not mine be done.”
I hope to update you all soon and let you know how things are working out! I anticipate I will have an answer possibly before this blog post is published (I’m scheduled a few ahead!). Who knows?! I may be the new, grateful owner of a historic home when this post goes live!
You never know what God has planned! So let me just encourage you to pray that He aligns your desires and your hopes and your dreams with His plans. That He would just fill your heart with His plans for you! And then you will have no cause for concern for hoping in the things that He has placed in your heart.
May God bless you and may you appreciate a new perspective and a deeper love and appreciation for God!
Until Next Time!
A Hopeful Potential Historic Homeowner,
Hope.