Afraid to Dream...but God Knows

 

When I was a child, I had plenty of dreams. My biggest dreams were that someday "my prince would come" and I would be a wife and a mother. I dreamt of being a teacher, too...life would be wonderful. But, in the reality of my life, those dreams never unfolded in the same way they did in my mind. As a result, I have often found it difficult to dream and to dream big. While at Missionary Training International in August 2010, one of the hardest and most emotional exercises for me was to dream about where I would be living when I moved to Ghana. Dreaming was hard because I had already seen where I was to live. It was a lot different than if I could have asked for a few things and actually received them. I knew the reality and harshness of life where I was going.

 

God had other plans. He found me a house which has become my home. It is much nicer than I would have ever imagined or hoped for. All I had to do was pay the rent. And, over the course of my time in Ghana, God has truly surprised me in many ways, fulfilling some unspoken dreams.

 

Now, I am in the US, speaking about the mission I am doing in Ghana raising funding, being on the road almost constantly so far. It is VERY wearing on body, mind and, at times, spirit. Yet, God has been amazing me. Read on...

 

I had no vehicle to drive while in the US. How would I get around? Borrow my brother's car? Use my sister's car from time to time? Try to line up some rides? Then, while speaking to a friend, she said, "I have a car you can use until January." It was a Jeep Compass with 12,500 miles on it! When I left for Ghana, I had a 17 year old Honda civic! God knew what I needed. He provided.

 

One of the hopes for this trip was to raise enough money to buy a motorcycle, a small one, so I could more easily travel to villages to visit my special needs kids and to work in the village of Kasalgri. Last Sunday, I was at Cornwall UMC in Cornwall, PA and mentioned this. After church a young man came up to me and asked me about the motorcycle. He told me, "Don't worry, you will have your motorcycle." WOW! It ends up that this man is not only a state policeman, but a motorcycle instructor.

Last night, I was in Alum Bank, PA. After I was done speaking, someone came up to me and asked if I had a special need. I hesitantly replied, "Well, I don't have a NEED, I have a WANT...and it is very self serving. I'd like to buy an air conditioner that can withstand the fluctuations in the electricity in the north, one that would work well." She stood there and wrote out the check. I told her what a blessing she was to me...(I had gotten to know her some over the previous 2 days)...and said I feel "funny" asking for something like a/c. She said, "Why? You're a daughter of the King. You have not because you ask not." and she laid the check in my hand.

Today, in Chambersburg, I was told I would be on the receiving end of devotional/Christian growth books that will be bought when we have an outing to the Christian bookstore, something that I don't get much of in Ghana. 

 

God is showing me that it IS okay for me to dream, to ask, and, there will be times that the answer may be "no" or "not now." But, there are many, many more time that He wants to lavish His love on me, one of His beloved children!