Hold the Dream Lightly

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Friends of ACFW, writing 4 Comments

By Lorraine Beatty

Dreams are funny things. They can sustain us, they can torment us or they can rip our hearts to shreds. But we can’t live without them. As writers we dream of that first contract or that perfect agent who will find us that top publisher. But sometimes dreams take a long time to materialize. Sometimes not at all. Sometimes dreams change shape entirely. So what happens when those dreams die? When everything we’ve worked so hard for is postponed or taken away?

I’ve had my writing dreams realized then dashed. I had four books published and I thought I was on my way to success. But a misfit with an agent, a revolving door of editors and a giant ignorance of basic writing knowledge on my part brought an abrupt end to my dream. Add to that a major life upheaval and the dreams of my whole family died.

My son wanted to be a pilot since he was five years old. He enrolled in a college that offered a commercial aviation program and was living his dream. But suddenly college was out of the question and flying impossible. The cost was too high. My heart broke for my son. We both had our dreams dashed.

So we put the dreams in the closet and dealt with life, trusting God to work things out. At that time, being an author or a pilot took a back seat to where we were going to live and where our next meal was coming from. It was a time of renewal for all of us. We learned to hold tight to one another, to trust the Lord more completely – and He proved his presence to us every day. People stepped up to help, job opportunities opened up, money arrived just in time to put food on the table.

Eventually, the dreams began to revive.  I started to write again. My son switched from flying to airport management classes. He also discovered an interest in finance in which he later attained a master degree. I adjusted my dream as well. From writing steamy romance to writing Christian romance. It took seven years, but I finally became a full time working author with over eighteen books with my publisher.

Sometimes our dreams come true later than we want. My career didn’t take off until my retirement years. Our son finally flew again but as a hobby pilot and he’s content with that. Not all dreams are meant to sit us at the top of the heap. And just because we have a dream doesn’t mean it the best dream for us. The important thing to remember is that there are many dreams out there for all of us. God has “plans” for us. Not just a plan. Keep your dream but don’t hold it too tightly.

The Lord may be working on a better dream, one more amazing than you could never imagine.

Lorraine Beatty is a multi-published bestselling author of over fifteen inspirational books. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio She now calls Mississippi home. She’s the proud grandmother of five and loves to spend time with them when not writing. She and husband Joe love to travel.

Save

Save

Comments 4

  1. Thank you for your encouragement. Sometimes God wants to change our perspective of the dream and if our hand is clenched around it, it may take longer to unwrapped our fingers. I love your thought that the Lord may be working on a better dream because He tells us His ways are different than ours. His is always best.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *