Living the Dream

Living the Dream

What does the dream look like? Describe it for me. Walk me through it. Direct the scene. Show me the highlights. What are the snapshots. Give me the story board. Time, let’s start with time. A moment of time. Space to breathe. Time to relax. Take your time. Just chill. No rush. Just cruise. No rush to get there. No time constraints. No commitments. No pressure. No deadlines. Someone will take care of it. The harvesters will do the work, while you soar above it on the wind.

I love the wind. The cool breeze lapping upon my face. The gentle caress of my face, in the place of the sun.

My fondest memory is walking along the longest beach in the sun, with my gorgeous new wife on our honeymoon. The sun was shining, the heat was dry and warm, the glory of the sun shone all around. We walked and walked, and laughed, and took our time as we strolled along the beach. It was a magical moment, forever imprinted on my memory. It is a place that I return to often, a snapshot of intense joy. A momentous moment. A snapshot of the dream!

I was excited by the joy of anticipation, the wonder of the hope of the majesty of the moment. A dream realized beyond my wildest imagination. I had found the woman of my dreams, she was gorgeous, she was mine, and she smiled with joy as she looked into my eyes. Wow!

How was it possible that God had “read my mind” and looked into my heart and in the moment of greatest despair years earlier had prepared this wonderful restoration of glory!

I still wonder at the majesty of God in blessing me with such an awesome woman!

She asked me once, and I could not answer at the time, for I was overcome in my response. She asked “Why is it that you had so many friends, before you met me, and now only a few remain?”. To me the answer is simple and yet so profound. It is a dream to live with the one I love, all other relationships pale into insignificance. Just being in the same room with her, is still magical to me. So intense, at times that I must withdraw myself, or play with my iPad, to be captivated, but not captive.

The struggle, the war, the confinement, trapped in, no escape. Free your mind. Take a fresh perspective. Embrace the dream, recapture your joy. New season, new joy. Recapture the moment. Live the dream. Come away with me. Come out of seclusion. Let me see your face, let me hear your voice. Come out. For you are no longer confined. Freedom now reigns. The sign is joy. The picture has turned, no longer closed or open. The sign on the door just reads “joy”. Come into the place of joy! Inhabit joy. Take joy with you, release joy. Joy is your strength. Pleasure is your reward. The moment is special for you, carry joy!

Wow! This is not how I see myself. Some would say “Melancholic” or “Serious” or “Intense” or “Creative” or “Faithful” or “Perfectionist”. But no-one would describe me as joyful. I brought this mug once for my beloved, I spent some time looking for one the right size, with the right words on it. It says “The joy of the Lord is your strength”. I drink out of it often, and try to be joyful in the place of lack, for she did not like it due to the thick lip.

My cup overflows in the place of lack. My joy wells up in the place of confinement. It bursts forth, in the presence of the enemy. It cannot be contained it must bring release. It must bring my goodness, my mercy, my presence, my overflow, my abundance. What are you holding on to? Lack or Overflow!? I shall not lack I will overflow. Possess the overflow, not the lack. Lack is an indicator of what you do not possess. Possess the overflow, to compensate for the lack. No compensation, for so much overflow, makes the lack irrelevant.

Joy is not something to possess. I cannot try to obtain it. It flows from within, and is experienced from without. Humanly my most joyful moments come from hearing the joy of my wife. I feel it now, when we would make love, on the Nile cruise, I would hear her joy, I would feel her joy, I would experience her joy, the intensity of her joy. Wow! The overflow from those moments, still wells up within me right now. It’s like I want to possess her joy, to replace the lack in my life. Why the lack?

I don’t remember much of my childhood, my parents are very academic, quite serious really. My mother had a traumatic childhood, and carried lack, that loss with her. She would strive to obtain knowledge, to do all she could to survive, to endure, to overcome. And overcome she has, a mighty woman of God she is. And yet I could see the pain behind her eyes, her words expressing the symptoms of the chaos that wrestled within. It seems that I too have inherited this condition.

I am a fierce overcomer. Nothing shall stand in the way of the accomplishment of God’s purpose in my life.

I expect to survive, I expect to overcome, I expect to see God’s goodness manifest. But do I expect to be joyful? Can I just be joyful? Can I be overcome with Joy? What is my expectation?

I love to jump in and make a huge splash! It is one of my favourite things. Yet I cannot swim! I assess the risk, I don’t jump too far from the edge. But in the moment of greatest risk, when I hit the greatest turbulence, I take a huge breath, and then burst forth with Joy! I come out with joy. Sometimes gasping for breath, but always with joy. I care not for the lack. People have told me, “why don’t you just get swimming lessons”, but they are missing the point. The joy is in doing something beyond my capabilities, taking huge risks, living dangerously, living on the edge, being reckless, making an impact. I care not for the spectacle but it is spectacular!

What if you just leapt over the edge in life. Jump in! Care not for the lack. Have no regard for the risk. Have no hesitation! Make a splash. Live in the moment of impact. Take my impact. Pour out my joy, my overflow. The joy that flows over and is not contained by the edge! My joy is your strength. Am I not joyful. Am I not in celebration right now. Look at the joy on my face. Take my joy and be full. Experience it. Dive in! Make a splash! Be fully immersed in my flow! Care not for disappointment, do not give it any love or attention. Do not water it, do not carry it with you. Let it drop. Lay down your baggage. Hold fast to joy. Hold fast to my goodness. This is the season on Joy! Be spurred on my joy. Be equipped with Joy. Possess my Joy. Let my joy flow. Release Joy!

The dream in this moment, this snapshot. Driving with the roof down, resting my hand on my wife’s lap, sun shining, the gentle breeze flowing in her hair, the joy on her face as I press the accelerator. “Let’s go”, she says, as we drive off into the sunset to unknown exciting destinations.

Thank you Lord for your promise

Ephesians 3:16-21 May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality]. May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]; [That you may really come] to know [practically,through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being]unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, andbecome a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]! Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]— To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it).

Today I dare ask you to do above and beyond this dream, this snapshot, this vision, this preview, this trailer. In days to come, bring this to pass, this season, this era, a new era, a new dawn of joy! Today I receive your joy, I take your perspective of me as the “man of joy”. Put the cloak of joy upon me, this day I pray, and for my beloved too. Restore unto us the years the locust has eaten.

Jeremiah 33:11 [There shall be heard again] the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing as they bring sacrifices of thanksgiving into the house of the Lord, Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good; for His mercy and kindness and steadfast love endure forever! For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed and return to be as it was at first, says the Lord. Jeremiah 33:14 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the good promise I have made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.