LIVING THE DREAM!

It has been three weeks of back-to-back poems. Spontaneous and unusual for me, I’m rolling with it. It’s part of my journey of trusting the Lord! :) Enjoy… or bear with me!

I gazed beyond my station in hopes of something more.
Dreams and visions ceaseless, locked behind the door.

Striving, longing, eyes fixed to travel there.
If only I could reach it, my life would bloom so fair.

Others seem to make it, successful on their way.
But I am fastened to this place, and weary in dismay.

Hope is fading, this my lot, and my future tortures me.
Bitterness, complaining, discontented be.

“When will life begin?” I ask. They say, “When dreams arrive.”
God promised life abundantly, and yet, I seem to strive.

But gratefulness does change the glass that I’ve been looking through.
Perspective in the truth transforms my outlook’s dreary hue.

For, yesterday I dreamed and shared it with the Lord.
And He dreamed it for me too. His ways are my reward.

Disguised in troubled trials and details often veiled,
I’m walking in my dreams come true, my steps have never failed.

Father never left me, He works everything for good,
He’s making me like Jesus, just as He said He would.

Have I prayed? Have I asked? To walk in love with Him?
Has He shared His heart with me and told me we would win?

What answered prayer possessed this day? May not be what it seems.
A grateful heart perspective will help you spot your dreams.

What you prayed for yesterday, you’re living out today.
Recognize the path you’re on is walking in His way.

So, look a little closer than the beckoning next door.
Else miss the treasure close to you in pursuit of something more.

Live your dream, today, right now, with Jesus at your side!
He’s not forgotten nor withheld, in faith you do abide.

~ Jeff Cummings

The idea of “living the dream” has been in my heart for a long time now. I’m a master dreamer and have been easily discouraged, disillusioned, and excelled at discontentment. Anyone close to me would agree that I could complain with the best of them. It is a trade from which I have long since retired in exchange for thanksgiving, praise, and trusting the love of God. I have loved and hated my dreams. Love because of the potential and vision, and hate because of the delay or “failure”.

The Lord and I do photography together. During this trip, I asked Him for an opportunity to photograph some sea otters in the wild – I mean close-up (which in my experience is rare). It was a little dream. The evening before we left our three-week stay at the ocean, the Lord sent His sea otter.

It may seem trivial – even unspiritual. With all the tragedies and upheaval in people’s lives across the globe, why would granting this request have any value at all? Why? Because God yearns to be involved and intimate with us in the smallest of details. Practicing walking and talking with Jesus brings maturity and confidence to the relationship. Big or little things are really only relative to us. Building intimacy is always BIG to God. And abiding with Him in intimacy, powerfully impacts how I live and the kinds of experiences I offer to the people I encounter.

Sea Otter enjoying a crab feast. This photo is available to order.

Eager thoughts about our future most always steal the treasures before us in the present.

Sea otters rarely come on land. In fact, they can live their entire life in the ocean water. After a good meal, this one is kicking back and enjoying his gigantic water bed in the surf. This photo is available to order.

Time and again, I find myself experiencing something I had prayed or asked God about even years before. Looking closely, I realize that every day, in some way, I’m living my dream! I have prayed prayers, made requests, and expressed desires.

One time I found myself smack dab in the middle of a dream come true. I had already moved on in my mind and set my sights on something new so I didn’t even recognize the dream fulfilled. Struggling with the discontent that the “new” was taking so long, God spoke, “I needed to fulfill this dream in you first before moving on because years ago you asked Me for this. I’m honoring you and showing you that I did not forget. And I hear your every word, desire, and interest. Trust Me.”

Eager thoughts about our future most always steal the treasures before us in the present.

“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’”

~ 1 Corinthians 2:9 (Paul quoted from Isaiah 64:4)

These words are not relegated to only things prepared for eternity. Do you love Jesus? Are you found “in Him”? His wisdom will disclose unimaginable things He has previously prepared for you to delight in now! In intimacy with Him, you might discover that you are “living the dream” too! Take a moment and consider how God might be working out today the desires of your heart.

“Joy in the Morning”