Dare to chase your wildest dreams

Have you ever reported to work barefooted? Am at the beach (not what you have in mind) a quiet public beach in a country that has absurdly stern rules on PDA. I am hours early for work, and so decide to take a walk on the beach. Working in a beach resort makes the public beach conveniently super close.

Not clad for the beach, I have no intention of wetting my clothes.

The winds blow harder, the strength of the waves intensify. I wet my clothes! So I move from where I am seated to another position: that is higher, so the waves do not reach me.

I stare with nothing on mind, giving up on the inspiration I was hoping to gather from the calmness of the moment and the sound of the ocean waves.

Twenty minutes into my new position, the waves roll to my attention a small bright red something. I think of picking it up, but feel lazy to stand up.

A thought instantly crosses my mind. Or maybe should I say... Something told me! lol.

"If that was something valuable, would you stand up to reach out for it"

It was not far, so that was easy. I said a quick yes and moved myself to pick up the colorful object. It was a broken piece from a brick tile! I threw it away and quickly resumed my empty stare, Somewhat underwhelmed, just but a very little.

Few minutes pass and I see something black floating on the water. It looked like a shoe. Just as I had stood up to pick up the brightly colored ideally valuable item, I stand up to get closer to the now retreating wave that had on it my object of interest. It was my shoe!

I had forgotten carry along my shoes when I moved location and the waves swept them away into the ocean. At least one, fortunately. I think its high time my memory and I worked out a better partnership.

Now tell me. Does it sound like a no biggie to have lost and found my shoe? Well, Let us just admit it would be crazy to show up for work barefooted. I had not taken any money with me, neither was there a shoe shop close by. It really is a big deal, we must be halfway in agreement by now.

Intriguingly though, I had lost my shoe at the place where I was first seated, quite a distance from my second position, yet the waves brought it back right before my eyes!

At that moment, I felt God tell me that He would restore everything that I had lost.

"I will restore to you the years the locusts have eaten."

Also, I learned a few things that I would love to share with you:

1. Walk away. You have to make a conscious decision to get out of your current position. To move from your not so good situation, where the tide is high and things are not working for you in order to position yourself at a place where you can locate your blessing. Decide to walk away from that state. There is power in a decided mind.

2. When you walk away from the waves, let go of things that may hold you back. If something is yours, It will come back to you.

3. It takes effort. I would like to replace that for surrender. I battled with my thought to stand up and pick the red piece but somehow conquered that resistance. When I stood up a second time to pick up the black object (which turned out to be of great value to me) I realized that the strength to go after it was drawn from the strength I had first gathered to pick up the broken brick. It could be that your struggle is mental or physical. The doubts, the lack of resources, the pleasure of the present, whatever it is, it is only when you fight the resistance you are facing that you are able to reach out to your treasure.

4. Patience. When you move to your new position, sometimes all you may see is broken bricks. Nothing of value comes your way. You've got to hold on to that faith you had when you first picked up the broken brick. something bigger is coming your way

5. When you identify your blessing or opportunity, you can not waste time bargaining if it is yours or not. If you have the ability or not. You've got to snatch it! I had to walk faster than before to grab the shoe that was now retreating into the ocean.

Do not allow anything to steal your dream. If you delay grabbing it, sometimes it may recede to a place where you may never find it, again.

May The Lord God give you the strength to go after your wildest Dreams.

Lots of Love,

Joanna