When Childhood Dreams Don't Come True

      By Fern Horst

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish." (Psalm 1)

As you were growing up you likely had visions about what your life would be like as a grown up. You may have envisioned going to college, getting a job, establishing your own home, finding a spouse, and having children. Your own dream may have varied somewhat, but I'd venture to say you had one.

I don't know about you, but my life at this point is different from what I'd anticipated as a child. I'd assumed I'd be a wife and a mother. In fact, I assumed as a child that my life as an adult would be very similar to my own parents'.

But it's different. In many ways very different. But in many ways it's also the same. I was blessed with godly Christian parents - parents who served the Lord and His people, and who still do. They trained me and my siblings to do the same. They emphasized through their own example that a Christian's purpose in life is to spend it serving the Lord. They taught us to delight in God's Word and to follow it completely.

As we have followed their training, I can see that we are becoming like the description in Psalm 1: trees planted by rivers of water with the Bible as our source of nourishment and the Holy Spirit as our guide. We aren't perfect people by any means, but I can see that God is using each one of us, though in different ways and in different locations. With humble acknowledgement I can see the fruit that He has graciously enabled us to bear for His Kingdom.

A person doesn't need to have grown up in a godly Christian home to bear spiritual fruit. I know many fruitful individuals who did not grow up with Christian parents. I stand in awe of how God has drawn them to Himself and transformed them into strong trees with deep roots in His Word and much spiritual fruit produced for Him.

A person also doesn't need to be living the life they'd dreamed of as a child to bear fruit for the Lord. In fact, sometimes it is in a situation they'd never even thought of that God enables them to bear the most fruit for Him.

The most important thing in this life is not that our dreams come true, but rather that we bear fruit for Christ. We become fruitful trees as we delight in His Word. If we don't make God's Word a part of us and the guide for our every action, we become like chaff that the wind blows away: no roots and no fruit.

Becoming like chaff is the worst tragedy of all - far more tragic than earthly dreams that fall by the wayside. We don't always have control over childhood dreams coming true. But it can always be our choice to sink our roots deep into the nourishment of God's Word and to bear fruit for His Kingdom.

© 2007 Fern Horst

NOTE: For the past six years we have been basing these devotionals on the readings from the Bible Reading Schedule available on our website. For the next number of devotionals, however, we will be doing a series of devotionals from the Psalms.

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