{"id":1278,"date":"2012-05-10T13:48:50","date_gmt":"2012-05-10T17:48:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/discoveriesofawanderer\/?p=1278"},"modified":"2012-05-10T14:19:47","modified_gmt":"2012-05-10T18:19:47","slug":"dreams-finding-fear-finding-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/discoveriesofawanderer\/2012\/05\/dreams-finding-fear-finding-faith.html","title":{"rendered":"Dreams: Finding Fear, Finding Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Dreams. What dreams don\u2019t I have?<\/p>\n

Dreams to find a few moments to sleep. Dreams to live in the same state as my boyfriend. Dreams to one day publish a book. Dreams to pay off my student loans. Dreams to live with less stress \u2013 the way God wants me to. Dreams to possibly one day get married and have children.<\/p>\n

But then the fear sets in. The gnawing sense that the things won\u2019t happen. My dreams won\u2019t become a reality.<\/p>\n

People might say something like, \u201cI wanted this plan for my life, and God\u2019s plan for me was something else, something different.\u201d Why is it that God\u2019s plan is not always what we want? Even when we think our own dreams are good? I know this doesn\u2019t happen all the time, but it does happen some<\/em> of the time.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s scary.<\/p>\n

Scary because God\u2019s plan sometimes forces you out of your own comfort zone. Scary because your own dreams don\u2019t always come true.<\/p>\n

So what I\u2019m left with is confusion and frustration. But mainly the reality that I have to trust<\/em> in God.<\/p>\n

Trust that He knows what I really need even before I do. Trust that His way really will work out for the best. Trust that what I want is not always what is the best path for me. This isn\u2019t easy, but it is possible.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m learning to trust again with a child-like faith, and I\u2019m also recognizing that some of our dreams really do come true. Some of the desires we have really do turn into reality. Replacing fear with faith can help me understand that although my own dreams are important, God\u2019s plans are really better.<\/p>\n

I really can trust in Him for a future that goes beyond my own extraordinary dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cDelight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.\u201d \u2013 Psalm 37:4 (NIV)<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Beautiful and Inspiring Authors Share Their Thoughts on Dreams:<\/strong>
\nRichenda Vermeulen (Follow @richendag<\/a>) – Dream Catcher<\/a><\/p>\n

Lindsey Talerico-Hedren (Follow @lindseytalerico<\/a>) – So long old dreams, hello new ones<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow all the posts on Twitter #DreamLink<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dreams. What dreams don\u2019t I have? Dreams to find a few moments to sleep. Dreams to live in the same state as my boyfriend. Dreams to one day publish a book. Dreams to pay off my student loans. Dreams to live with less stress \u2013 the way God wants me to. Dreams to possibly one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":235,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,12,14,25,59],"tags":[269,61,89,271,270],"class_list":["post-1278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-god","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-prayer","tag-dreams","tag-faith","tag-frustration","tag-the-future","tag-trusting-in-god"],"yoast_head":"\nDreams: Finding Fear, Finding Faith - Discoveries of a Wanderer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/discoveriesofawanderer\/2012\/05\/dreams-finding-fear-finding-faith.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dreams: Finding Fear, Finding Faith - Discoveries of a Wanderer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dreams. What dreams don\u2019t I have? Dreams to find a few moments to sleep. Dreams to live in the same state as my boyfriend. Dreams to one day publish a book. Dreams to pay off my student loans. Dreams to live with less stress \u2013 the way God wants me to. Dreams to possibly one…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/discoveriesofawanderer\/2012\/05\/dreams-finding-fear-finding-faith.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Discoveries of a Wanderer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-10T17:48:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-05-10T18:19:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/discoveriesofawanderer\/files\/2011\/09\/love-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jana Melpolder\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dreams: Finding Fear, Finding Faith - Discoveries of a Wanderer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/discoveriesofawanderer\/2012\/05\/dreams-finding-fear-finding-faith.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dreams: Finding Fear, Finding Faith - Discoveries of a Wanderer","og_description":"Dreams. 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