Broken Dreams

by Deanna Blanchard

Life just hasn’t gone the way I planned it to.

As a child, I dreamed of marriage, children and houses with white picket fences. I had no career in mind, because all I wanted to be was a wife and mother.

Today, I’m 43 years old and never married. And there isn’t a man in sight.
What do you do when your dreams don’t come true?
I don’t know about you, but I get depressed and eat chocolate. Lots of it.

And my singleness wasn’t the only thing that depressed me. I had a stalled career, financial struggles, and dysfunctional family members to deal with. It seemed like every dream I ever had for my life was stomped on and crushed beyond recognition. I was carrying all these broken dreams inside of me – and it hurt.

So I did what any good Christian girl would do. I prayed about it. The answer seemed a long time coming. And then one day, something broke through the dark cloud hanging over me.

It was a song by Aaron Shust that I had heard many times before. The lyrics went …
“All of my plans, all of my dreams, I lay them down before your feet …”

It caught my attention. He laid his dreams down at the feet of Jesus. Maybe that was what I needed to do.

In my mind’s eye, I could see myself carrying around a huge bag. It was labeled “Broken Dreams” and – judging from the sharp bulges – it was full. The jagged edges of the broken dreams cut through the bag, making it difficult and painful to carry.

I knew I should lay it down before Jesus – just like the song said. But something held me back. What could Jesus do with broken dreams? They were useless.

And what about me? Aren’t broken dreams better than no dreams at all? Wouldn’t I have a huge void inside if I give them up?

As strange as this may sound, it was a bit of a struggle to lay those dreams down before Jesus in prayer. But I felt lighter once I did it, like I had rid myself of a great burden.

I’m praying that Jesus replace those broken dreams with his own dreams for my life. I’m still waiting for an answer, but I feel at peace with my decision to let the broken dreams go.

How about you? Are you carrying around a bag of broken dreams? Jesus doesn’t want you to bear that burden. Just lay them down before him, and you’ll be surprised at how free you feel.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) NASB

Deanna Blanchard is a direct response copywriter at Response Ink. She is a freelance writer in her spare time.

Article Source: http://www.articles.narrowisthepath.com

God Is Good

By Maggie Brittain

Three simple words that made such an impact on my life and continues day by day. These are life-giving words, words of wisdom, words of hope, words that can take a spirit and lift it to higher ground. "God is good."

He never changes, the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8. On that verse, our hope can stand secure on the solid Rock.

As a young Christian, I was fooled into thinking that life would get easier and major difficulties would become a thing of the past. However, life got a lot meaner, times got leaner and many times, I would hear those three little words, "God is good."

There was a lot of confusion in the early days of my walk with our Lord. I read just about everything I could get my hands on that would enable me to have a better understanding. I read my Bible every day but life continued to get ugly from lack of money, chronic illness to loss of friends.

Getting angry with God was about a two-year struggle. I could never completely turn my back on God; however, I wasn't as close as I should have been either. There was one attack after another with no end in sight.

Over and over the words would come back into my mind that a little old preacher man uttered to me upon leaving Sunday services, "God is good." I always thought it odd how he never said anything else to me, only those three words.

Many nights I'd lay awake wondering if God is so good, why am I sick without reason, why am I struggling to feed and clothe my little boy? Why, why why? All that ever came back in response to my questioning is that "God is good."

As the years passed, so did my many questions. Through that time, I learned that God is good, He is the Best Friend I ever had, He stuck with me when others turned away, He never left me when I gave Him every reason to do so.

I don't ask God why any more, I have no reason to as I've learned to trust Him regardless of how grim a situation may look. How things appear is seldom the real issue.

Grab a hold of the greatest blessing that God Himself has given to us. Take the opportunity to know Him personally, up close from your heart to His. Ask Him to show you where He is in your day because we are often too busy to see Him. He gladly reveals Himself just because we ask Him.

All this is ours simply because God is good.

Copyright 2008 Maggie Brittain

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS-MAKE A WEBSITE