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~ Dreams ~
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Our dreams shape who we are and who we will become.
Youth is a time for dreaming dreams and making plans for your life.
The dreams you choose to follow during school and college years
will influence forever the pattern of your life.
Choose carefully.
Listen to your heart as well as your head.
Choose a dream you care deeply about,
not just an intellectual interest.
Listen to the advice of others,
but weigh their words carefully.
If they resonate with your soul,
if they feed your dreams,
take the words to heart and cherish them.
If the advice challenges you to look deep within yourself,
at your reasons for wanting to follow a particular path,
take the challenge,
consider thoughtfully
and discover more about yourself.
If their words tear you down
or cause you to deny who you are
or what you value, even in subtle ways, reject them.
Surround yourself with people who build you up or challenge you.
Avoid discussing your dreams with those who would try to steal them.
Remember,
you are the one who must walk the path you choose.
Pursue your dreams with diligence and discipline.
Prepare yourself to achieve your goals.
Work hard.
Make sacrifices.
Use your passion for your dream and all the creativity you can muster
when facing obstacles and set-backs.
If this is a dream God planted in your heart,
of a place where your abilities meet a need in the world,
you will find a way.
Be patient if the way doesn't open immediately.
Hold fast to your dream even if its achievement
gets side-tracked for years.
Put those years to good use.
Continue to prepare yourself for the fulfillment of your dream.
Be bold and brave.
Don't let fear or negativism keep you from trying.
If you try, the worst thing that can happen is failure.
Consider failure an opportunity to learn how to try again,
refining your plans into a success story for all to see.
If you don't try, you will have to live with your regrets,
doubts and fears,
perhaps for the rest of your life.
My prayer for you is a dream
big enough to capture your heart,
bright enough to illuminate your mind and
deep enough to satisfy your spirit.
May you find the strength to pursue it and
be enriched by it across the years.
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