Dreams and Reality

I'm sure you've probably heard your close friends and family say to you, "Don't give up!," or "Hang in there!," or maybe, "You got this!," at some point in your life when things have gotten hard. It sounds so common and familiar a lot of the time, for me at least, that I don't see the meaning behind words like those. But really, they are powerful.
 I'm sure you've also had dreams throughout your life. Big or small, it doesn't matter. Some of those dreams probably didn't work out the way you wanted them to. And when that happens, disappointment creeps in. Thoughts of failure, thoughts about how unworthy you are begin to cloud your mind. You find yourself feeling lost, wandering around and trying to find the answers on where you should go in life, what you should do next. The thing is, God has your whole entire life planned out. Things like crushed dreams and broken hearts can do one of two things: Bring you down about yourself and your life, or make you stronger to fulfill the plans God has for your life. The choice is yours. What will you choose to do with the curveballs life throws at you?
 In my own life, I knew what my dream was, and it was to be a Gator gymnast. I did dance on and off with gymnastics until I finally figured that out. Gymnastics was what I loved. I worked hard, and I enjoyed all of the practices, competitions, and time with my teammates. In a different season of life. Things started to change, and I wasn't loving gymnastics as much as I did before. One day I decided to quit gymnastics. to leave all of my hard work behind. All of my dreams and all of my achievements. For months after I made that decision, I cried out to God in desperation. I was so lost and I thought I made a terrible mistake. I felt trapped. If I did gymnastics, I wasn't happy. But if I quit, I wasn't happy either. There was nothing in my head I could imagine that read 'happy' to me. This went on for some time, and I started to get into dance again. It sparked so much joy inside of me. So, I decided to start taking classes. Now I have been for a month or two, and I'm happier than ever. I love life!

The reason I shared this story with you guys is because I want you to know that we all go through different seasons of life, and that's okay! Don't give up, even when things change or don't work out. This was a very difficult lesson for me to learn, but now I'm okay with the fact that I moved on from gymnastics. I am happy in the present, with where I am right now. And right now is all you and I need to worry about.