Take Time to Dream

You can't dream on the run. You have to slow down, lay down and rest. You have to allow your mind to wander into flights of fancy. Children do it well.

One of my favorite movies is October Sky, based on the book Rocket Boys by Homer Hickham, Jr. The author writes about his dream, which began at age fourteen. One night, Homer looked up at the sky and saw the Russian space ship, Sputnik, race across the October sky of West Virginia. That was the night Homer determined he would build a rocket of his own. He enlisted his friends and sold them on the dream.

The boys had to overcome some “impossible” barriers to realize their dream, including making a workable rocket, facing adamant opposition from Homer's father, and overcoming remarkable competition in the 1960 National Science Fair. At one point early on, it looked pretty grim for the Rocket Boys. One of their rockets flew off so far, they couldn't find it. The same day there was a serious fire in the woods. The rocket was blamed. The authorities told the boys they could no longer launch rockets. In addition, Homer's father suffered an injury, and Homer had to work in the coal mines to support the family. Homer gave up on his dream and settled for life as a coal miner.

But, the dream was resurrected when someone found the missing rocket, far from the fire that had occurred the same day. In addition, a school teacher encouraged the boys to enter the 1960 Science Fair and Homer turned back to pursuing his dream. There would be other obstacles, but one by one, they were overcome. Home Hickham, Jr. became a space engineer for NASA, where he helped design rockets that would propel men beyond what most could imagine.

What is your dream? I encourage you to slow down and allow yourself to dream those lofty dreams of your childhood. As you pray, ask God to refine your dreams so they fulfill God's purpose. Map a plan and take the next step.

What is your dream for this church? We will continue dreaming and pursuing the dream on Sunday mornings, as we recall the life of Joseph (Genesis 37-50).

When the Christians in Seville, Spain, set out to build a cathedral, before construction began in 1491, they wrote a resolution and all of those in the church signed it. This is how it reads: "Let us build here a church so great that those who come after us will think us mad for ever having dreamed it."