Dear Family,
One of my favorite country groups was the Highwaymen, a
group comprised of Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and the late Johnny Cash and
Waylon Jennings. One of my favorite songs of theirs was “Desperados
Waiting for the Train,” a song that conveys the thought of anticipation, of
something just around the corner that might forever change their lives. It's a
story of a dream, and dreams are important motivators for success.
I love the story of the little ten-year-old who was selling
pencils door to door in his neighborhood. When an interested adult at one house
asked him the reasons for selling pencils, He replied. “I want to raise six million
dollars to build a new hospital for the city.” Amazed, the inquiring adult
exclaimed “That’s a mighty big job for just one little boy, isn’t it?” “No,”
the little boy responded. “I have a friend who is helping me.”
I love that little story because I love that little boy. I love
hanging around people like that-those who dream big dreams. I believe the world
needs more people like this little boy. It needs people who are not afraid to
dream and risk and dare to tackle great challenges. That is how progress is
made and history is changed.
It was just 300 who were left from Gideon’s original army that
defeated the Midianites, and it was only 120 faithful prayer warriors in that
Upper Room who, after having received the promised Holy Spirit, ventured out
boldly to win their world for Christ. And it was Jonathan with only one of his
armor bearers who routed the whole Philistine army, because he knew that
“Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or few.” (1 Samuel
14:6)
God has never been concerned with great numbers when it comes to
accomplishing His will and purpose. The world needs dreamers who desire to do
great things for God and who look to God and not the oddsmakers for
they know that one with God is always a majority.
A number of years ago, the late Robert Schuller, helped transform
a non-descript drive in movie theater in Orange County, California, into the
magnificent Crystal Cathedral Unfortunately, following Schuller’s death, the
church’s influence and its once famous television ministry waned, and
today it is home of the Orange County Roman Catholic diocese. Whatever
one thinks of Schuller’s theology, one can not dispute the fact that what he
accomplished for Christ was the direct result of his willingness to dream
big dreams.
He writes. “My dreams had all come true and when the dream comes
true it dies. It no longer sustains and feeds you. I have since written this
prayer: ‘O God, let me die with my best dreams left unfulfilled’. “It’s a
profound prayer for if I lived to see all my dreams come true, I will have died
before I died.” Renew Your Life! Catch a New Dream, Robert Schuller, p.
6
Whether in the church, at home, in the office or on the
athletic field, we all must dare to dream big dreams, for dreams are the stuff
from which success is made and the foundation on which progress is achieved.
And you know it ain’t half bad when someone calls you a dreamer, for I know of
another dreamer. His name was Joseph, and his brothers sarcastically labeled
him a dreamer, and he didn’t do too bad for himself and his God.
Yours in faith and friendship,
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