I think one of the most beautiful things about a person is seeing what they truly have a passion for. I recently had the opportunity to attend a leadership conference at my university. The keynote speaker was Kevin Snyder- to call him inspiring, is definitely an understatement. What he had to say produced such a spark inside of me.
And I want to ask all of you…what do you have a passion for? I often ask people, “So, what do you want to do with your life?” Well, now I am going to rephrase that question into, “What do you REALLY want to do with your life?” I hope people realize that there is a difference in those two questions—that would also result in two very different answers. It's important to break out of the box that people, society, etc has put you in. When we stay in the box, we limit ourselves.
Kevin Snyder said so many things that I absolutely loved that I pretty much wrote down his whole presentation—yeah, that’s the journalist in me. Please take the time to read these profound statements:
-“Set-backs can be set-ups…”
-“Vision without action is just a daydream…”
-“When other people quit, you won’t…”
-“When you don’t risk, you risk even more…”
-“We come up with more excuse of why we can’t, then why we can…”
-“Think differently…”
-“You can’t drive by looking in your rearview mirror. Learn from the past, but don’t stay there…”
-“You can’t have anything new in your life until you appreciate what you already have…”
-“No one on their death bed says that they wished they worked harder…”
-“How would not being here tomorrow affect how you would live today…”
-“Obstacles are there to see how bad you really want it…”
Would I consider myself a realistic person? Yeah, I think I would to some degree. However, I feel like everybody is considered a realistic person to an extent. But what if we dreamed? What if we really dreamed big?! I can’t even imagine what kind of an impact that could be made!
There are a lot of things inside of me that I want to share with the world. Sometimes I feel like I am going to explode with excitement from the things that I dream up and hope to do. Do I always share my dreams with people? Sometimes, it depends haha. Sometimes I can't even put my dreams into words, which maybe why it is difficult to always express. But I'm slowly getting better at it. I just think we give up on ourselves too easily! So what, our dreams might not be easy to obtain, but it will be worth it. Don’t let anyone tell you that your dream is unrealistic, crazy, not possible, etc. There are times that I have talked myself out of a dream before I even started to work on it. I think, “God this looks so impossible to do. How? When? Where?” I believe God knows the desires of our heart and the things that we are passionate about. I also believe that God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called. Sometimes taking this route causes us to do things in an nontraditional way, if you know what I mean. It’s an adventure…and nontraditional adventure. And I’m ready for it. Everything I am for His kingdom’s cause (That's easier said than done sometimes. This often requires sacrifice). Recently I have been saying that I don’t feel like I am going to have a "traditional job." Do I know exactly what that means? Well, no not really haha. However, I feel that whenever we do anything for Christ it is considered "nontraditional"- especially in the eyes of the world. Nontraditional is a good thing :) But that is what I feel for some reason. It is so humbling to think that God can take our gifts, talents, the things we have a passion for, and use it for his glory and kingdom. I say it’s humbling because it really goes to show how this life isn’t about us.
I heard a song for the first time today that really expresses what I feel inside. “I want to start a revolution//I want to live life beautifully//I want to be different than the rest…” And with Christ, I know that this is achievable.
I love the lyrics to Hosanna by Hillsong, “I see a generation rising up to take the place//With selfless faith, with selfless faith//I see a near revival stirring as we pray and seek//We're on our knees, we're on our knees…”
Dream big.
Even better, dream big for GOD.
