Get Your Head Out of the Clouds

Have a funeral to bury the old and make way for the new.  If you focus on results, you will never change, if you focus on change, you will get results.  ― Jack Dixon 

As children, we are often asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and just like that, dreams are born. The possibilities are endless…and then life happens. We age...
We learn our talents and weaknesses. We develop insecurities. We are thrown curve balls in this game of life. And sometimes, we fail. When dreams don’t pan out as imagined, it can be frustrating. You didn’t get the job that you wanted. Maybe your relationship is failing. As Lee has shared with the church, he and his wife had dreams of what life would look like for them after retirement. Nowhere in those dreams was a Parkinson’s diagnosis.

When dreams are shattered, sometimes the best thing to do is have a funeral for them. Mourn the loss of that dream. Take all the emotion that comes with the loss and face it. Then, bury it. Once the old dream is buried, get a new dream—it’s imperative to get a new dream! Without a proper funeral and new dream, we dwell in the land of “what if” and regret. Without adjusting and moving forward, we might never know what God has waiting. Rather than new soil that is ready for planting a new dream, the soil of our lives stays rocky, sidelined on the dusty road, in the rocks, or thorny and bitter. In other words, we stop growing.

It is during these times of trial that it is important to be intentional. Lee and his wife mourned the loss of their retirement dream and are allowing God to use Lee’s diagnosis as He wants. As “Home Run” author Kevin Myers says, “God has a dream for your life. He loves you. He made you uniquely. He has given you gifts and talents. He created you with a purpose. And you can fulfill it!”

READ and THINK… What does the Bible say?

1. Matthew is narrating how Jesus responded to his disciples’ question as to why he used stories (parables) when speaking to people, like in the parable of the sower that we’ve talked about this week.

Question: What does Jesus mean by his reasoning for using parables? (Hint: see box following answer space)

Matthew 13:13 (New Living Translation)

That is why I use these parables, for they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.

Answer: 

We’re all going to encounter heartache and setbacks. The psalmist is honest about the state of his life—and his hope.

Question: Why should we depend on God for strength when life doesn’t feel fair?

Psalm 73:26 (New Living Translation)

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.

Answer:

 LIVE… What will you do now?

Are there some heartaches or expectations that you need to let go of now? What isn’t going to happen in your life no matter how badly you want it? For what dream do you need to conduct a funeral and bury?

How will you be impacted spiritually if you don’t have the funeral and let it go?

When old dreams die, new ones are born. Are you at a place in your life where God is giving you a new dream? If you aren’t sure, then what is the next best step you can take?

PRAY… God, what do you want me to know and do?

Praise God for the dreams that have come to fruition in your life. Ask God for clarity when it comes to your current dreams. Are they in line with the dreams He has for you? Ask God to use you for His good.