How to Get Back in the Boat of Your Shipwrecked Dreams

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Welcome to Week #7 of The Summer Sizzle Blog Hop Series.

If you’ve missed any of the earlier posts here, check out:

6 of the Best Ways to Fight Distraction and Listen to God
by Dawn Klinge

Amazing Worship Songs that will Make Your Day Better
by Carmen Brown

How to be Blessed with the Powerful Wisdom of God
by Valerie Murray

5 Verses that will Help When You Worry About Your Kids
by Ruthie Gray

How to Thrive When You Need a Spiritual Pep Talk
by Nicki Schroeder

7 Verses that will Give You Perspective When You Need It
by Melanie Redd

AND…

To find more posts from my awesome friends, visit The Summer Sizzle Blog Hop Series Board on Pinterest! 

Now, for today’s post…

Please welcome another precious friend, Marva Smith from Sun Sparkle Shine, one of those people who really does scatter sparkles over those blessed to know her.

Visiting Marva at Sun Sparkle Shine is like sitting on the seashore watching the sunshine as it dances along the waves.

Read the first line of her about me page:

SunSparkleShine is your space to simply…slow…down. As you do, I hope you will breathe easy and give yourself permission to enjoy life to the full. It’s okay, go ahead, escape the busyness of life and truly sparkle in the light of God’s goodness.

So, sit back, relax, and breathe in the beauty of goodness and hope that only God can give … and of course, don’t forget to stop and say hello to make Marva feel at home!

How to Get Back in the Boat of Your Shipwrecked Dreams

Talk to me about shipwrecked dreams and I’ll quickly tell you I can relate.

I’m not going to pretend that I’d win a competition if there was one, but I can assure you that I have some stories of my own. I can think of a time or two (too many) when life has knocked my dreams about.

Not too long ago my dreams were left by the wayside, put on hold in the face of survival.

We don’t like to talk about our dashed dreams, do we? It’s messy, uncomfortable and yes, downright painful.

We start to associate our broken dreams with pain, loss and suffering. And the truth is they often are.

But, friend, what if we looked at our lost and shipwrecked dreams in a different way?

Think about how Paul suggested we should approach our sufferings:

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. Romans 5:1-5 

Are you rejoicing over your lost dreams?

It almost seems insulting to suggest it.

I have to tell you, rejoicing isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when I think about my broken, my shipwrecked dreams. Far from it.

But what about this one in Isaiah 61:1-3?

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
    for the Lord has anointed me
    to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
    and to proclaim that captives will be released and
prisoners will be freed.
He has sent me to tell those who mourn
    that the time of the Lord’s favor has come,
    and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.
To all who mourn in Israel,
    He will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
    festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
    that the Lord has planted for His own glory.

 Many of those words resonated with me.

Brokenhearted. Mourning. Faint spirit. Ruins.

But friend, this is what God wants to offer us instead:

Good news.

Liberty.

Favor.

Beauty

A garment of praise.

Those are the words I’m holding on to.

A few months ago, I lost the life I knew. With it went a few goals and dreams. My home, my country, my family, my job, my life, have all been turned upside down.

But you know one thing I haven’t lost?

My purpose.

Having my faith anchored in Christ makes all the difference. Even with my goals and dreams shipwrecked, my purpose remains.

Now more than ever, God has stirred up a fire within me to live life on purpose. A life of meaning, a life of value and a life of hope. A life that makes a difference.

I am on a mission to spread this hope to you too. If you’ve lost sight of your goals and dreams, don’t lose sight of your purpose.

Your purpose is still there, settled deep within your soul.

It might need to be stirred, but it’s still there.

God has something better in store for you. In place of your old goals and dreams, God wants to give you something better.

Rather than mourn the dreams I lost, I’m dreaming again and embracing new possibilities.

If you’re passionate about rekindling your purpose too, let’s make a commitment to do just that. Let’s stay close to our Father, the giver of dreams and the creator of purpose. Let’s seek His plan for our lives. Let’s turn to Him and humbly submit our future to Him. 

God wants you to dream even bigger than before. And I can’t wait to see the amazing things He’ll do in you and through you.

I know that my old dreams will be nothing compared to my new ones.

Remember what the Scripture said?

Beauty for ashes.

All so that God can be glorified. How exciting is that?

Let’s decide to dream big and walk in purpose, together!

Wishing you blessings!

Marva

Marva Smith | SunSparkleShine.com

Marva is an island-living, sun-loving Christian wife and mother. As a business owner, management consultant, trainer and coach, she’s no stranger to busy but chooses the full life Christ offers instead (John 10:10). She finds joy in encouraging women to slow down and shine in the light of God’s goodness. You can find her writing about her life and faith on her website SunSparkleShine.com as well as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram. Get a free copy of her e-book You Were Made to Sparkle here.

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