Dream Big

There is a part in the move Cars 3, where the trainer Cruz is explaining her dream to become a race car when she was a little car. While explaining, she shares that her family always told her "Dream small Cruz, dream small, or not at all. Have you ever been told this in one fashion or another? I have.

I remember the day well. I was in my late twenties. I was confiding in a member of my church leadership about a guy that I was pretty sure I was going to marry. He was cute! From a different city. Loved Jesus. Had a job. He was smart. And he was single. I was daydreaming and plotting my next moves.

The leader said something along the lines of "You know that he is way out of your league. The people he hangs out with and associates with are in a completely different social circle than you." I was crushed. No, I was defeated. I still remember the awkwardness I felt with this conversation. I have always struggled with feelings of inadequacies and not belonging. This leader... this mentor... this friend solidified that I was nobody with just a few short words. I felt rejected. I felt silly.
 
Now, all things work together for good, right? In the end, I was able to get myself a pretty amazing husband. I have an adorable son. A nice house with two acres of land, three dogs and three cats (all six drive me crazy, but I also love them so they continue to reside with us) But it isn't necessarily that my dream of marrying this guy didn't come to fruition. It was the words of someone dear to me that confirmed to me that I was no one important. On that day, she told me to stay in my lane, to accept what life brings to me and stay a nobody that doesn't do anything great. Basically she said, "Dream small, Michelle, dream small or not at all".

It has taken me some time! A lot of time. A lot of years. A lot of learning experiences. A lot of pain. So much time has been spent in my life thinking that I was nobody. 
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I’ll take this time to say I am so thankful for God in my life. In the last couple of years, He has placed some pretty amazing people in my life that have helped me slowly turn this thinking. They have helped me realize that first and foremost, I am a daughter, a child of the One True King. That alone makes me important. It makes me somebody. If nothing else ever happens in my life than that alone is enough to sustain me, but I know that this isn’t all that God has in store for me.

Since I have had my son, I have discovered that I can be pretty amazing. I am by no means the “best” mom, but it has been two years and my son is still alive and breathing. That friends, is amazing! I have found a new confidence in myself that I am growing to love and appreciate. I find myself dreaming big dreams, taking big steps and trusting that God is there to help me walk through the open doors that He is giving me.
 
And that’s the trick, right? We talk about faith and believing that God will always work things for our good, but then we sit inside our comfortable homes, with our comfortable friends, with our comfortable jobs and comfortable tasks and live just an ordinary comfortable life.
 
God does open doors for all of us. He has a direction for our lives, but we have to be willing to step outside of ourselves, dare to be adventurous and do great things. Not just for ourselves, but for our spouses, children, family, neighbors and strangers. When we dare to do something extraordinary, we impact everyone around us. When we dream big, the impact ripples through those that surround us.
 
So, I say “Yes I CAN”. Status and social circles do not determine what I can and cannot do. People’s lives are changed every day by what we do. So, yes, I can set big goals and I can dream big dreams all because I have a big, BIG God!
 
You can too! I believe it. Are you willing to be brave and step out to do something that you have secretly dreamed about? Do it! Stop waiting for the perfect time, the perfect place, the perfect circumstances. Have some faith in who you are and what you are capable of! You are AMAZING! You are smart! You are someone! You matter!
 
Take my hand… let’s go change the world together.