How Ironic

Each minute there are 245 births and 110 deaths.

"Death comes when memories become more powerful to us than dreams."

I don't know who said that. I agree.

I want you to probe the depths of your heart right now. Delve deep into the center of what makes you who you are. Think of your life 2 years from now and where it is you will be.

I bet you have some dreams wrapped up in there, some plans, some hopes. Even if it's having a garden or paying off a bill, you have something that you would like to see happen.

"I've had visions,
I've had dreams,
I've even held them in my hands,
But I never knew,
They would slip right through,
Like they were only grains of sand...."

Years ago I was having a conversation with a girl I worked with. I was telling her some of the things I wanted to happen in my life. She was a negative, sour person anyway, so I shouldn't have been surprised when she bitterly replied, "You want too much!"

I was shocked! I had always been taught by my Dad and Mom I could have anything I set my mind to. I remember telling her "What would life be if you didn't have dreams?"

And I have been blessed to see so many of the things I had hoped for come to pass. They weren't elaborate dreams, I dreamt of an education, of a home of our own, of having some money in the bank. But I guess to her, these things were out of reach. How sad.

They sailed. They sailed. Then spoke the mate:
"This mad sea shows its' teeth tonight
He curls his lip, he lies in wait,
With lifted teeth, as if to bite!
Brave admiral, say but one good word.
What shall we do when hope is gone?"
The words leapt like a leaping sword:
"Sail on! sail on! and on!"

My parents have come to a realization that it may be time to let go. I cannot imagine how it must feel for these two people who taught me how to dream to know that their own dreams may die. I cannot imagine what they feel knowing the irony of it all, with all the time they now have to fulfill their dreams they now find themselves virtually trapped in their home, prisoners of circumstances.

But in the midst of the death of their dream of travel comes the birth of new dreams: a new kidney for Dad, the possibility of spending time closer to my brother and sister, the thought of new babies to hold and love somewhere down the road.

"The most beautiful things in life cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."

I think Hellen Keller must have been the expert on feeling with her heart. She didn't have the ability we do to see or hear, she could only feel. And today as a dream breathes it's last breath for my parents, in their heart, new dreams are born, new possibilities, new hopes.

I believe the Bible calls this "FAITH."

"NOW FAITH is the substance of the things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

I like how the commentary in my Bible describes this chapter. (Hebrews chapter 11) "demonstrates the nature of the only kind of faith that is acceptable before God and that will triumph in the worst of situations. It is a faith that believes in spiritual realities, leads to righteousness, seeks God, believes in His goodness, has confidence in His Word, obeys His commands, regulates life on the promises of God, rejects the spirits of this present evil age, seeks a heavenly home, perseveres in testing, blesses the next generation, refuses the pleasures of sin, endures persecution, performs mighty acts of righteousness, suffers for God, and does not return to 'that country from whence they cam out' i.e. the world."

Isn't it ironic how things turn out sometimes? But if we hold on, God has a purpose and a plan. I see His plan unfolding even now.

Death comes, swiftly and slowly, but it still comes. But if the numbers are correct, it seems for every death there are 2 births. Just this fact should give birth to hope within us.

I read an article about a nurse who has lived her life doing missionary work. She was there after the tsunami devastation and listened as one man spoke of having to make the choice of whether to keep holding on to his wife, or whether to hold on to their 3 year old child. He wept bitterly as he spoke of letting go of his wife's hand.

There are times when we have to let go of something we love in order to preserve something else. I am thankful I have never had to make the decision that this man had to make, but I can see his reasoning as painful as the decision was and even though it must still haunt him, it preserved the life of the child, the culmination of the dreams of he and his wife.

But letting go always hurts. Always. It is the possibilities of tomorrow that keep us going.

I am so grateful for the many dreams You have allowed me to see come true, and for the many dreams that are on the way. I am thankful for all my tomorrows and blessed by all my yesterdays. I am glad I know that sometimes things have to die in my life in order for me to give birth to something better, even if it is a dream that dies. I am living each day, dreaming of that day when I see Your face. I love You so, so much!!!