“You’re never too old to chase your dreams.” My pastor Erwin McManus spoke those words in March 2007, and my life has not been the same since. I remember that Sunday. It was the day that when I returned home after church, I began embarking on my writing career. I may not be a famous novelist or nonfiction book seller yet, but I have grown in the craft of writing. It all started because I heard the encouraging words of my pastor that I was not too old to chase my dreams.
No matter what life has brought you, you are not too old to chase your dreams or to begin chasing a new dream. The barriers that stood in your way in the past must be removed. Once those barriers are removed, you will be able to see clearly what you must do. God gave us our passions and dreams because he uses them for his work.
First, we must rid ourselves of comparison. We cannot compare our place on the journey with someone else. We all have different paths on our journeys. Some of us can travel in a straight line. Others of us, travel with every curve, hill, and valley. Every move we make is an adventure. No matter what part of the journey you are traversing, it is where you need to be. I learned this the hard way.
In youth ministry, I began speaking in places other than my church. At an event, the disorganized leader, whom I had admired as someone who had it all together and took the straight route on her journey in youth ministry, created a mess. I discovered that her perfection for organization was a façade. Not only was she disorganized, but instead of taking ownership of her own mistakes, she blamed everyone that she asked to do tasks. I took her hits, and I have learned not to do the same mistake. I discovered that on her straight path to success in ministry, she never learned humility or how to treat humans with genuine kindness when she made a mistake.
I learned from that youth leader, that we both had our own journeys. Neither one of us were in competition with one another. We could both do the same tasks and receive results that were needed by the people we served. I struggled with comparison. Once I see my heroes flaws, I realize that I can admire, but not think less of myself and my own talents.
Along with not comparing ourselves with others, we must push aside jealousy. Other people have their own struggles. When we find what their struggles in life are, we will let them have their success. I have learned so much from my own path on the journey with its twists and turns. I wouldn’t trade it for anyone else’s journey. We must follow Romans 12:15. “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” Christians are good at weeping with others, but we must work on our rejoicing with others. I have friends who have books published after taking on writing from a hobby to a career in a matter of two years. Others of us are still working. I rejoice with the publication of other people’s books. They didn’t write what I would write. It was never a competition, so jealousy does not need to exist.
Instead of jealousy, we must celebrate the success of others. I realized that when I celebrate others and encourage them to continue, it reminds me that I too can celebrate my small successes. Even if a human being does not celebrate, I can. God celebrates our successes. Jealousy becomes bitterness, and creativity cannot exist in a bitter world. After time, our passion for our art decreases because we are just bitter over what others have. Our talents must be used to build others up. When we use our talents for others, bitterness, anger, and jealousy cannot exist within us or our talents.
Chasing the wrong dreams can be a reason we are not achieving them. I love watching the Olympics, but I am not, never was, and never will be a world class athlete. It is not something that I have been given the gifts to be. Sometimes, it’s not the wrong dream, but the wrong venue.
So many people come to Hollywood chasing their dream to be in the Hollywood world, and so few of them can succeed or receive jobs that will pay the bills. Maybe we are meant to use our talents for a smaller community than the whole world. The movie, Mr. Holland’s Opus reminds us that serving others and making a difference in the lives of others around us daily is more important than being famous or chasing our original dream.
Whatever your dreams are, you can find a way to establish a path to achieve them. You may have to discover another means to them. Our dreams were given to us to serve God. If your dream is to just be rich and famous, it will not serve God’s purpose, and you will not be fully satisfied. Our hearts are full when we accomplish the passions that God has given us. Those passions are our dreams. Let us fulfill our calling and chase those dreams that God has given us.
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