The ARDS Foundation - Body, Mind, & Spirit

By Pastor Ian

“I HAVE A DREAM!”

Dreaming dreams is good for you. It’s O.K. to think ahead about your life and your plans for living and perhaps, to stretch the possibility thinking into the realm of what might, at first glance, seem a little “impossible,” or far fetched. Having said that, the world’s greatest inventions; the world’s finest moments in history have, with but few exceptions, commenced with one person who had a dream.

Dreaming dreams at the personal level can, as I see it, have many results. For example, as I dream of winning the lottery millions, I know that it will not be likely to happen in my lifetime. You see I was told that one had to PURCHASE a ticket in order to have a chance of winning, and that kind of placed the wrapping back on the c andy for me! But I really do dream dreams and, as some of you will know, my greatest dream was realized two years ago (how time flies) when I received my “Gift of Life from a stranger. This has allowed me to re-direct my life in ways that make it possible to begin to help others to fulfill their own dreams, impossible though they may seem at first.

I have other dreams of course:

• I would be a liar if I did not admit to wanting to shoot a par 72 on my local Golf Course with my friends “The Golf Squad!” (sorry guys and ‘gal’ but I had to call us something.)
• I would like to see a friend of mine who lives close to me receive the healing they deserve and have worked so hard to achieve.
• I would like to see honesty become a tested prerequisite to public service and “politics’ in any form disappear in favor of the public good.
• I would like to see our local churches/religious organizations aiding others fulfill their dreams by being more effective in helping them to strengthen their Spiritual selves. We don’t realize just how important that is to us until crisis hits our lives, either personally or through events in the life of a loved one. It is then that we come to know that we need help in these moments, and to me that kind of help is most effective when it comes through being connected with a caring and loving, Spiritual community…..just the kind that I am blessed to know surrounds my wife and myself…and YOU!

If anyone reading this is asking themselves: “How can I get myself some of this “Spirituality” that Pastor Ian is talking about? Let me tell you quite simply that YOU have to take the first step towards that ‘dream,’ and set the ball rolling. It is just like me and my lottery win. It ain’t gonna happen if I don’t purchase a ticket. Stepping out towards a dream; towards a goal in life takes courage, takes commitment, and takes FAITH in ones own ability to succeed. “I have a dream” need not be the prerogative of others; need not make you a proverbial onlooker in life to the good things that always seem to happen to others; need not IF…… and this is where it gets tricky because now you are required to take action and become an active component in the realization of your dream/s.

The words “I HAVE A DREAM,” which were made famous by Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech to Black America, were delivered on August 28 th. 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C . In that momentous speech to millions of Americans, Martin Luther King Jr. dared to dream his own ‘impossible’ dreams in public. I do not have space sufficient to reiterate his speech in full, however, as this article is about YOUR dreams I thought it might help you if I recalled his words which seemed to be an impossible dream back in 1963:

“ I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character………I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together." (Isaiah 40) I have a dream today! We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)

That was one person and their dreams…..dreams that are still in the process of being fulfilled. What are your dreams my friends? When we are in the grips of a health of life crisis, dreams can seem a long way from reality and may have to be placed on the “back burner,” while the immediate needs of Body, Mind and Spirit are attended. But I would say to you that they must not be forgotten. In my own case IT WAS MY IMPOSSIBLE DREAMS of walking again; dreams of breathing again without the need for oxygen tubes in my nose and mouth; dreams of seeing our son and his partner married; dreams of cuddling our first grandchild; dreams of an evening walk with my wife…and so many more, all of which have since been realized thanks to a God-given healing miracle.

Are YOUR dreams so impossible that taking the first step on the journey of fulfilling them becomes a giant step…too large to contemplate? Sometimes that dream can be as simple as not pulling that next cigarette out of the packet, or pouring the next glass, or coming to the end of the month with a few dollars left in the bank…achievable….YES!!! because help was sought and given. Sometimes turning that dream into reality can be as simple as confiding in a trusted friend. Sometimes, like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and myself, it takes belief in the power of our Creator to help us.

If YOU have a dream my friends, think about what I have said, and if you REALLY want them to happen, take the first step in prayer and ask for help to make them real.