I sit here typing this less than one week until I board the plane to Los Angeles where I will begin to chase after the dream God placed in my heart and has taken years to come to fruition. I am immediately reminded of the day I sat in the kiddie pool behind my church, holding my breath as my college pastor baptized me. I had no idea then that God was going to relentlessly pursue me, love me, and prepare me to follow a dream He was going to plant in my heart not long after. All I can truly say is, this has been a journey. I believe that dreams were given to us for a specific purpose, and yet, they are not a necessary feature of the human brain. Dreams don’t remind our hearts to keep beating. They don’t help our muscles move, nor do they help us breath. There is absolutely no necessity in human life for dreams, but we were still given them for a reason. And the more I ponder the concept of dreams, the more I believe that they were given to us as a way of hearing from God. There are countless examples in the Bible where God spoke to people through dreams or visions. All they had to do was obey, trust, and be astonished by the way God worked through them to make that dream a reality. The founder of YWAM, Loren Cunningham, had a dream where waves of young people were flooding the nations spreading the good news of Jesus. As years passed after having that dream, he knew it was a call - a call to pursue ministry and to lead thousands of young people to places where the need for Jesus was so high. He dared to believe that this dream was from the Lord and, through His guidance, was provided everything he needed to make that dream a reality. Now, more than 55 years later, YWAM has over 1,100 locations and works with people aged 9 to 90 - all with Christ at the center. The ministry is stronger than ever, all thanks to Loren’s obedience to a God-given dream. Without dreams, I don’t believe organizations like YWAM would even exist. Without dreams, without visions of change, how can we create such a place where change has occurred? How can we create a change if we don’t know what to work towards? Dreams allow us to see a more beautiful world; they allow us to see the world the way God desires it to look. I’ve always had this idea in my mind that God was like a mosaic, as though He was made up of the faces of His children, perfectly arranged to create His being, each child purposefully placed. Recently out of this idea stemmed another. I wondered if maybe the Kingdom - what we are working to bring to this broken and desperate world - is actually made up of the dreams and visions God gives each of us. What if this ability to dream was a way for God to work through us to bring about the world He desires for us? Having this idea really challenged me. While we know God doesn’t depend on us because He doesn’t have to, He is choosing us to be the vessels of His goodness and His grace. How incredible would this world be if each of us fearlessly and faithfully pursued the dream and the call over our lives? I know, it’s easier said than done. But I sat at a job for a year filled with constant discontentment and a desire for greater things. I had several heart to hearts with my coworkers and friends and shed a few too many tears from feeling lost and without purpose. And yet, each day I came into working staring at a quote that I had written on my white board that said "have the end in mind and every day make sure you're working towards it." As I read those words silently in my head, I followed with asking myself if today would be the day I worked towards the dream that was in my heart. And finally, on my last day at the office, I walked out with the white board in hand and the humbling satisfaction of knowing I could answer my haunting question with a YES. That feeling is indescribable, but following a dream is no small feat. I will be the first to tell you that dreams are scary because sometimes (read: most of the time) that means making sacrifices financially, emotionally, and relationally. It means allowing a time of discomfort in order to be a part of bringing God’s Kingdom here. And in the end it’s worth it not because our lives followed a certain expectation put upon us by the culture we live in, but because our lives had a greater impact on the salvation of the world. When we keep that end in sight, the fear of discomfort and change seems to slowly disappear. So I hope you continue to ask yourself each day, am I keeping the end in sight and every day working towards it? A simple yes, paired with His guidance, will no doubt take you on the adventure your heart was created for. I'm off to Los Angeles in less than three days, but still have about $2500 to raise for my outreach fees! Would you consider being a part of this journey with me?
You can donate at https://www.youcaring.com/tara-hebert-600280 Thank you for partnering with me to fight human trafficking! Much love, Tara
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December 2016
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