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