Dreams

I didn't have a chance to write last night between a terrible headache (which, unfortunately is still lingering) and a talk Ben and I had about the future and dreams. At one point, Ben asked the question "What is the point of dreaming?" And the first answer that came to the top of my head was "Dreaming gives you hope for the future."

It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of life and forget about all of those grand dreams you had when you were younger. In my case, marrying the love of my life, moving away from home, focusing on Ben's schooling and having babies earlier than expected, all conspired to put my dreams on hold. So much so, that I have even forgotten what many of them were!

As I have gone through a lot of healing and personal growth in this past year, some of those dreams and/or new ones have started creeping in. I have been thinking about dreams more so lately because of a new book we are starting in our mom's group called, "Mama's Got a Fake I.D." It's a book about how mamas tend to put everything else on the wayside while focusing on an extremely important task: raising kids! Suddenly your I.D. is "Mom." Everyone knows you as a mom, you introduce yourself or are introduced as a mom, you may even look like a mom:) (however, it has always been my goal never to dress like an old mom.....I digress...) The point is, "Mom" may be a huge part of who you are but it's not all of you. There's a lot more to the woman you were created to be!

Yesterday in our group, we started sharing more about who we are and who we were before kids. As amazing as being a parent is, it's the truth that having kids changes things and most in a really good way. It was neat to hear my friends share their hearts and what passions or gifts they have and what new ones are emerging. I am really looking forward to hearing from the rest next week.

And so I am in a place right now of learning how to dream again and not just dreaming but realizing that even though my dreams may be different than some other people, they are no less valuable. How can this new and improved me be used? What passions do I have? What do I want to do or how do I want to serve others? I am excited to find out what things lie inside of me, ready to break free! And I hope that by having dreams and pursuing them, I can be an even better mom and set a good example for my children.

So here's to all the dreamin' mama's and women out there!