7 Dreams for Your Future

Today I had an unusual writing task:  I was to write a blessing of sorts for the doctoral and master's students that were leaving our Christian graduate student community to launch their careers.  I imagined what I would tell my own children as they started careers.  I imagined all the things I would want for them.  Mostly, though, I remembered what seven dreams God shaped in my own heart that sustained me through graduate school, marriage, parenting, teaching, writing, and just. . . living.  Here's what came to mind (and what I will speak to them tonight). 

1. May you be a blessing to all those you encounter, living a life of love and service with the strength God provides.  Colossians 1:28 tells us that we labor with Christ’s energy.  May that energy enable you to do extraordinary work in the lives of people and in your daily tasks.  May you advance knowledge in your field in ways that build, help, and bring healing in various broad forms.

2.  May you depend on the unfailing love of God, described in Psalm 90, that gives you joy and gladness for all the days of your life. 

3.  May you be filled with wonder in your career as you discover the treasures of Christ as mentioned in Colossians 2 where we read that the mystery of God is Christ “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”  May you find the wonder of God in each endeavor whether science, literature, social work, law, business, engineering, social sciences, education, architecture, medicine, or the arts.  May that wonder sustain you through difficult days.

4.  May you live a life of enormous faith—trusting God for immeasurably more than you could ask or imagine as noted in Ephesians 3:20.  May you have no fear as you move into the adventure God has for you, but only a joyful expectation of God's power, provision, and purpose for your life. 

5.  May you be an agent of peace, love, and the presence of the Living God in your workplace and in your city. May you remember 2 Corinthians 5—that God loves and cares for others through you. 

6.  May you build authentic community wherever you go—loving deeply as noted in 1 Thessalonians 2:8—being delighted to share your life with others because they are so dear to you. 

7.  May you remember Psalm 16 and the truth that God sets the boundaries of your life—they are good and right.  Also, the psalmist tells us that when you trust in the Lord, you will not be shaken. 

With these 7 promises in scripture, I'm confident that those new professionals will live rich, satisfying lives.  It's my prayer for them and for myself, and, in the words of this blog, they represent 7 dreams for a future of flair.  

The Poop Revelation

"Poop?  Poop?  You're writing about poop?" my youngest challenged me.  "That's gross, Mom."  Well, what can I say?  I don't always get to choose when the flair moment comes.  I just witness it.

On the walk to school this morning, my friend and I trailed behind her little dog (the one with the waggly tail).  When the dog stopped to poop, we stopped and waited, and then we waited some more while she picked up the poop and put it in a plastic bag. 

Meanwhile, the other parents and their kids ran ahead and up the hill through the woods.

"Thanks for waiting with me," my friend said.

"No problem.  That's what friendship is.  I wait while you deal with your poop."

We looked at each other and laughed.  It's so true.  How many days have we waited patiently while the other was dealing with her poop:  bad moods, freak-out days of too much work and not enough time, our "issues," or any other situation that made us act less than our best, less than we knew we could be?  How many days did we commiserate about sick children, family drama, disappointments, personal failures?  

We put our arms around each other and walked up that hill.  Any friend that can appreciate my flair metaphors of picking up poop and walking up hills is a friend of mine.  I don't even need to write it:  Living with flair means I stand beside my friends as they deal with their poop.  Even if everybody else is running up ahead, moving on with their days, I'm hanging around with the poop.  She'd do it for me.

3 Ways to Love Life (According to a Young Photographer)

My five year old steals my camera whenever she can.  She's the most determined little girl when she's setting up a shot.  She'll take pictures of anything--cats, babies, rear ends, her own feet.  And it's all equally intriguing and equally beautiful.  As I found these photos other friends took of her yesterday, I couldn't help but think about what she's teaching me.


1.  Concentrate.
If my little girl can do it, surely I can take a minute and look around.  All of a sudden, I find extraordinary things to love.  I appreciate my surroundings instead of moving through them like they are mere inconveniences on my way to where I'm going.

2.  Look closely at your subject and be patient.   (You may have to hunch down and look completely ridiculous)  She's not self-conscious about this act of observing her world.  Who cares what friends think?  She's living with flair whether anybody thinks it's weird.   She passed up pie and shopping to stay there and get this shot.  She knew where the real joy was. 

3.  Everything's fair game, even your flip flops.

Do you know how many feet pictures my daughter takes?  She loves her feet, she loves shoes, and she loves that one toe of pink nail polish left over from last month's kitchen beauty parlor afternoon. 
 

Living with flair means I need to focus on my world, observe it closely, and know that everything is fair game for flair. 

Photos courtesy of Lauren Kooistra and Rachel Schrock.