Here's the thing about dreams. I think that some people need to learn to dream. Especially after they have been taught not to.
For six years, our family lived under the assumption that we would be leaving the country and moving to a developing one, literally around the world. Our children were young when we started the process to move. But when one year turned into two and then three, we saw them starting to withdraw. We saw them change. Though once they were free, fun loving kids, it seemed almost overnight that they became withdrawn and anxious. They stopped looking forward to things.
This was a hard time for us as parents. As a mom, I felt a lot of guilt. I told myself that it was my fault they felt this way. If I'm being honest, I still struggle with reminding myself that it's not my fault. But that story is for another time.
Now that we are firmly planted with Indian Life Ministries, and are so thankful that the Lord used COVID-19 to keep us in Canada, we have found that it's time to teach our kids how to dream again-that it's safe to dream.
We tell them repeatedly that they are safe, we are not leaving, and we believe in them. They both have part-time jobs now and are learning that they can do things outside of the home, making a contribution to not only their lives, but also to others' lives. We help them think outside the box as far as what types of things interest them and what they might want to try. And we teach them that although they may fail, really, failure is just their first attempt in learning. We teach them that failure doesn't define who they are. That's God's job.
This past weekend, Indian Life was blessed to get to be involved in the Native Youth Conference. During the course of the weekend, we saw we saw the youth in attendance relax, open up and have those deep belly laughs. You know the ones. We saw kids that came to camp with the weight of the world on their shoulders. And then slowly, we saw them engage in games, singing, listening at the workshops and being encouraged by the speakers' personal testimonies.
I spoke to two young ladies who have learned that it isn't safe to dream because of the various circumstances they have experienced. They didn't see a reason to dream-and didn't know how. I was deeply burdened when they shared their stories with me and am so very thankful that they felt safe to do so.
The Native Youth Conference planted seeds in them that it is okay to dream, that they have value, are worth it, and have a place in the world. I saw over a dozen young people make decisions to follow Jesus this weekend. Hallelujah! I pray that Jesus will give them a vision for their future and show them that dreams are a beautiful thing.
It's not an easy thing to feel safe to dream, and I pray that day by day, step by step, our young people will dream . . . that they give themselves permission to dream. And I pray that they courageously step out and pursue their dreams.
