Dream a Little Dream with Me!
Becoming a Dream Bearer
In the book The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson, we are introduced to a character named Ordinary, a Nobody who after receiving a visit from the Dream Giver, leaves the Land of Familiar to pursue his Big Dream.
In the beginning of this modern-day parable, Ordinary realizes that he has been visited by the Dream Giver because he discovers a long white feather resting on the sill of his window. The feather is a message signifying that God Himself has fashioned a dream that He has deposited in Ordinary, His own selected dream bearer.
Just like clouds that are treated with solid particles to convert water droplets into rain, so God seeds a dream in His dream bearer by furnishing the initial vision that stimulates the growth and development of the dream.
A God-given dream is recognizable because it supersedes a dream bearer's immediate reality. The nature of a God-given dream is that it imparts a vision of beauty and excellence that grows in the dream bearer's consciousness as a viable possibility reserved for someday in the future.
God gave me such a dream in the late 1990's to see a women's center developed in the Valley of the Sun. Little did I know then of the meandering path that would lead me to develop Phoenix Seminary's Center for Women with Vision (CWV).
Confirming a Dream
A dream that is seeded and nurtured by God becomes a strongly desired goal in the heart of the dream bearer. The dream appears to have the capacity to fully satisfy a deeply embedded wish or ideal. I have come to believe that the ideal is God's way of motivating His dream bearer to forge ahead into risky territory. The ideal is lovely and lofty because it benefits everyone involved.
Since there is risk in leaving a comfort zone, conquering fears and overcoming obstacles that keep a dream bearer from living a Big Dream, God confirms and reconfirms the dream along the way.
These confirmations are important directional arrows in discerning the timing of the process that God is guiding His dream bearer to follow. The process protects the dream bearer from running ahead of God into presumption or falling back into a place of inertia - a stuck place.
Building a Dream Team
Once the dream is confirmed and the timing is right, then another piece of the journey begins to fall into place. Like passion draws like passion. Other individuals see the vision and desire to commit to the dream, as well.
What exactly draws this kind of support from others? God is at work behind the scenes sparking a noticing that causes others to see the vision with their own eyes.
The team that comes together consists of individuals who share a "like" for the same dream. They are unified because they resemble each other, they are counterparts to each other and equals in character and maturity. They share the same passion to accomplish something for the glory of God.
When Rae Larson asked me to become the director of Phoenix Seminary's Center for Women with Vision, my response was to offer to facilitate a team that would bring the vision into reality. This offer was based upon my belief that God would be faithful to provide His selected team of women in His time.
God has been faithful! He has drawn together team members who share in the many responsibilities of developing the vision. Our mission motto speaks to the respect and honor we have toward all of our team members, Working together to bring vision to life!
Perhaps you, too, have been given a Big Dream. One that can change your life. One that the Dream Giver wants you to achieve. Come on! Step out of your comfort zone and dream a little dream with me!
