My Father's Dream

Will you dare to ask God what dream He held for you as He knit you together in your mother's womb?

That was the question of the day at the retreat at church this weekend. Kimberly Smith, author of  "Passport Through Darkness" spoke on "Our Father's Dream" holding fast to the concept that even before He created us, God had a special plan for each of our lives.

Kimberly has spent the last decade helping widows and orphans escape and survive the war and genocide that is Sudan. Her book tells of her journey into that call on her life and how yielding her own dreams to embrace what God had planned for her has not only been life- changing but life-giving.

The retreat was interactive. We sat in table groups as Kimberly shared stories, music and movie clips as ways to move us into dialogue with our table mates and God. The question on the table was; what is standing in the way of hearing --and responding to the dream God holds for you?

There were moments-- long moments-- of gut wrenching, tear stained emotions bubbling up for many as we faced old wounds. For some this was the first time acknowledging these hurts; while others were realizing not all was as well as they had thought. Still others were able to celebrate the amount of good work and healing that has taken place and used the exercises to reaffirm that growth.

Moving from exposing pain to embracing forgiveness and healing in the course of a day and a half is a lot to expect. But it started many on a quest for more.  More questions, more exploration, more pressing in to God for the answers and the wholeness only He can bring to a wounded heart.

I am looking at how in my own life, God seems to be intent on flushing out all the impurities in me, to the surface to be dealt with once and for all. It's not fun or pretty but it's also not unbearable. It's that refining process that we often hear about.

As the weekend came to a close we were redirected to the original question: what dream does God hold for me? With healing comes room for responding to such a question. With healing comes trust that God means no harm and that His way is always infinitely better than anything we could ever dream or imagine for ourselves.

What dream does God hold for me? Am I willing to dare to ask Him?


God, what dream did you hold for me when you knit me together in my mother's womb? What did you create me for?