"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." - Matthew 7:7
Today I'd like to talk to you about following your dreams! Everyone has dreams they want to pursue...even if they are realistic or not. God has placed certain desires in your heart. This is so you can pursue those longings and take action towards your lifelong goals. He has given everyone of us on earth a mission to fulfill in this life. The question is, do we know what that mission is? Are we aware of our passion and purpose? And if so, how do we go about it?
I don't have all the answers to those questions. As a matter of fact I'm still trying to figure it out myself. But I do know that if we want to be truly happy and live a successful life for the Lord that we must submit ourselves to Him and His Holy Will.
Have you ever heard the phrase, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans"...? It is not that our dreams are funny in the least. If you feel called to do something, go for it! But it is in the way you go about it that must be taken into consideration. Making plans to follow a dream without God's help is not only unwise, but it is also really dangerous. The devil could easily influence you to make the wrong decision and, in turn, it could end up costing you your dream. Going to God in prayer and asking Him to make our dreams a reality is definitely how we should start when pursuing a goal.
After praying about it don't expect the answer to come right away, like a poof of magic. Praying is something we do in our time. The answer's come in God's time. Meanwhile, you should be concentrating on how to achieve your goal. As St. Augustine said, "Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as everything depended on you." Putting in the effort, for example, like studying to do well on a test...is what will give you the good grade. You can't expect God to just hand it to you. In order to pursue your dream it will take a lot of effort! But are you willing to go the extra mile to get there?
For example, one of my favorite movies is Rudy. In the movie Rudy wanted to attend the University of Notre Dame for as long as he could remember. Not only did he want to go to school there, but he also wanted to play college football for them too. He was a poor boy, not very well educated, and didn't have the best grades. It was a long shot, but even when everyone around him told him that Notre Dame was out of his league he ended up surprising them all. After a few years of attending Holy Cross he ended up transferring to Notre Dame with the grades he needed to get in! He also played football for them and dressed out for one of the games! That was all he needed. He was just happy to even be in that one football game.
The moral of the story is, don't give up on your dreams when others do. If you feel called by God to do something, then do it! Right now I feel called to pursue my master's degree after I graduate college next year. I know that I need to look into it now because it is so competitive. I'm also really looking forward to attending a Catholic university because right now I do not. I miss the fellowship of other Catholics around me on a daily basis. So, whatever it may be, I am willing to accept God's Will because I know He knows best.
Maybe you still don't know what your lifelong dream is. That's okay. If this is the case just go to God and ask Him. Don't worry. It might take a while but if you trust Him I promise that He will lead you to the right goal in life. Remember, He loves you so much and wants the best out of life for you! Also, you might want to check out some really good books by Matthew Kelly. He offers great advice about passion, purpose, following your dreams, and how to become the best version of yourself. Here is a video I found from one of his conferences called "What's Your Dream?" Enjoy!!
Praying that God will make your dreams a reality! (And please pray for me too, if you can. Thank you so much!) God bless! :)
