I remember as a brave little boy telling my mom I was planning to run away.
She responded calmly to my statement because she had a plan. First, she asked me a few questions about the details of my proposed trip. These questions were meant to help a little boy ponder the consequences and create doubt before embarking on such a journey. The next step in her cunning plan was to distract me with some stay-at-home comfort. “Derek, would you like some banana bread? Come to the kitchen table and I’ll slice some for you.”
Checkmate. Before I knew it, my belly was full and I was playing with my toy cars in the living room.
What my mom did in this innocent childhood illustration was a natural response to protect her loved one. But isn’t it true that even after we are adults, those closest to us will always want to protect us, sometimes even from our dreams?
If your dream is to do something that is way out of their depth or understanding, or it appears to be out of your depth, they may feel fearful and react by trying to dissuade you from pursuing your dream either overtly or more subtly through manipulation or other means. Their reactions and comments can have the effect of water extinguishing the fire of your dream.
You should always seek wise counsel but when you seek this from those closest to you, it is important to recognize that their deep love for you can cause them to have an agenda (whether they realize it or not) to keep you safe, with a belly full of banana bread and playing cars on the living room floor where they can keep a loving eye on you.
It’s up to us to protect the dreams that God has put on our hearts to pursue. To allow these dreams to be squashed only leads to disappointment, bitterness, and resentment, often resulting in broken relationships. No loved one would ever deliberately want to cause that!
If you take the steps given in Part 1 and Part 2 in this series, protect and pursue your dreams with vigour and persistence, you’ll be living the adventure you were meant to live. In addition, living out your dreams serves the needs of others in this world. Now do it!!!
Your Ottawa Chiropractor,
Dr. Derek Haughton
Ascension Chiropractic Health Centre