Everyone Has A Dream

Everyone has a dream.

Something they long to happen or do; somewhere they want to go. Some dream of traveling the world and seeing great wonders. Others want to become teachers, writers, and politicians. Some, to become famous, build bridges, or make a scientific discovery.

Everyone has a dream of some kind or another.
Even me.

Mine are different than any of those listed above. Mine is as unique as the person next to me.
I dream of a simple life.

That’s all I want. I don’t care if I never travel, though I would love to see more of my country. I don’t want to build a great monument or become famous. I just want to live somewhere quiet and peaceful. Free from worry or fear. I heard a song by The Dillard’s that really says it best:

I was looking for a place I’ve never been

Down the road, around the bend, and back again

Always looking for the end of the rainbow

Never knowing all that glitters is not gold

Finally figured out money can not buy

All the things I tried to leave behind

While looking for my future I almost lost my past

Now I’m starting to want the things I have

I got me a front porch and a wicker rocking chair

Wood for the stove and clean mountain air

Friends that are true and a family who cares

A little church where I say my prayers

You know life ain’t so bad in my wicker rocking chair

The world keeps getting harder to define

When for me progress is just a state of mind

I spent so many years trying to get by on my own

Never realizing that life was moving on

Finally figured out the finer things in life

Don’t cost me a solitary dime

And the key to getting rich is learning how to give

So I think I’ll just give up and live

Oh, to just have a wicker rocking chair and clean mountain air! Where I can breathe that air that God created alone.
I dream of a having a farm where I can produce my own food. Raise my babies off the land, and to be the best wife and mother I can be. Where they can run bare foot through tall grass, romp with lop eared puppies, and wade in a cool creek beneath a summer sunset.
I dream of a small town filled with people who still care about each other. Where they know right from wrong.
Where I don’t have to be afraid of what may happen in the future. What the world can do to me, or take away.
I dream of a place where money isn’t the most needed thing in our lives. Where we can be content with just each other to love.
Today, you need money, for everything. Insurance, food, gas, doctors, and clothing. I know back in the day they needed money too, but it didn’t take so much of it.

I get discouraged.

How can one be happy in this life with so many bills?
I’ve always heard that during the “Great Depression” of the 1930’s, people were happier. Times were hard, and many were poor. But that made them appreciate what little they had. And they went out of their way to help someone in need.
Where is that time now? Will we ever find it again?
Sometimes I think,
“Is that really a lot to wish for?"
Sometimes it hurts to know I will probably never find my dream life. This world isn’t prefect. How could I find that place? But I keep a hold of a small amount of hope. Maybe. Maybe somewhere down my road of life it is God’s will I have a glimpse of that dream.
I love to look at pictures of farms with snow capped mountains. I love to browse through “Country Sampler” magazines and get ideas. I have my farmhouse all planned out.
Some things I really want are exposed beams, wide planked flooring, and most of all a, squeaky screen door.
All this takes money too. (What doesn’t?) But I always say,

“If your going to dream, dream big!”

So, I do! I have big dreams. Some people tell me I’m silly. No eighteen year old girl today dreams about her house. She’s supposed to think about what phone case to buy, who you're going to hang out with next, or what outfit looks the best.
Why can’t I think about houses and kitchens? The two rooms I really think about are my kitchen and school room/library. I’ve picked out my appliances, sinks, decorations, and flooring. Even for my school room I’ve found books I want to use to teach and classics I want them to read.

Old-fashioned.
That’s me.

I can’t wait to homeschool.
I can’t wait to cook my husband supper.
To teach my little girls to bake.
To watch my boys dream of being just like their daddy.

I dream about canning my own vegetables.
I long for where the world doesn’t spin so fast, and each day is a gift. A new adventure.
My, how I could just go on! Once I get started, I don’t stop. Maybe someday I’ll find someone who wants to listen and, maybe, shares my dream as well.

I dream, but I also know it’s all in God’s will. Maybe I’ll never find that special someone. Maybe I’ll never have babies. Maybe I won’t have a farm.
It’s all in God’s hands. I pray for acceptance and peace. If none of this comes to reality, I pray God will show me what He does want from me in this world. I get frustrated as every year goes by and I still have not found the man who God made for me.

“What does God want me to do? I don’t have any other wishes.”

Still, I know, in His time, I will find what He wants. I just need patience.

I can’t handle the news. All I hear is how bad this world has come, and I get afraid. And fear is a sin.
I get discouraged because I feel like I fail when I worry. Like I don’t have enough faith to whole heartedly trust Jesus.
But then the words He spoke to me while I wrote “The Gentle Voice” come to me:
"I was always there. I have never left thee."

And I know He never has.