{don’t} follow your dreams

Today I received three words of unsolicited advice in the form of sidewalk graffiti.

Follow your dreams.

As I walked, I started to think.

If I had followed my little-girl dreams, where would I be? Maybe drawing pictures for a living. Or making a fool of myself trying to be a ballerina (short-lived dream). Or being a mother.

And if I had followed my bigger-girl dreams? I’d be a fashion designer or the owner of a pattern company.

What about my grown-up dreams? The ones I have now? If I follow those I might be … (you didn’t really think I’d disclose that which is closest to my heart, did you? 🙂 )

So which of the dreams is the sidewalk-advice referring to? I can’t follow all my dreams. I don’t have time for all of them. Some I have no desire to follow anymore. Some even contradict each other.

Let my delight be
Living out Your dreams;

~ Broken Bread (Rend Collective Experiment)

What if I don’t follow my dreams. What if I follow Your dreams instead? Not you, reader. The You with a capital Y.

A wise woman encouraged me last week (as she has before) to keep myself in “neutral” as I face changes and decisions in my life. A few days later I was working through her latest book and found this quote that explains what she meant by that:

As soon as you begin to live the life of faith in God, fascinating and luxurious prospects will open up before you, and these things are yours by right; but if you are living the life of faith you will exercise your right to waive your rights, and let God choose for you.

~Oswald Chambers

So don’t follow your dreams.
Follow His dreams for you.

{Read the lyrics to Broken Bread here, or listen to them by playing the video below}