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Editorial: Dream On

by Captain Kathy See

Captain Kathy See,
Editor Revive
Dreaming ... the imagination's opportunity to create a whimsical fantasy. A human dreams about 20 minutes per night which adds up to approximately six years during a lifespan. In my opinion, that's not nearly enough time. I really enjoy a good dream ... in fact, I take dreaming into daytime hours.

The school teacher in my family would sometimes come home and groan about the little girls who would lose focus in her classroom because they were absorbed in good daydreams. Her opinion did keep me from daydreaming at school.

But being a dreamer, I would often come home from school and stand by the window listening to the words of other dreamers, like John Lennon: 'Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one.' The practical realist (and I know plenty of them) says of the starry-eyed dreamer, 'What bubble do you live in?' Or in Immanuel Kant's words: 'The lunatic is a wakeful dreamer.'

Crazy or not, the world needs dreamers. But the world seems to make a great effort to keep dreamers grounded in reality. Practical counsel sends young people on their way towards reasonable professions.

Have you ever daydreamed about what your life would have been like if you chose 'to slide on the rainbows of your childhood dreams'? Today, I might have been a dolphin trainer, or an Olympic runner (try not to laugh), or the first Caucasian woman to be a Harlem Globetrotter - the international magicians of basketball.

(I really didn't have much of a chance with the Harlem Globetrotters as they are an African-American basketball team, but that's why it was such a good dream! I guess white women can't jump either.) Thank God, he grabbed hold of my plans and made my dreams fit his will.

I think God is fond of dreamers. I even believe he searches for a dreamer crazy enough to carry out his plans. Jacob, Joseph and Daniel - were they heroes of faith or mad men? It's not always easy to follow God's plans, and it's equally as difficult not to. Sometimes God's plans are so outrageous, they may make you feel like you are out of your mind. Yet this challenge is for the dreamer: Don't shy away from God's vision when others worry about your seemingly impractical ideas, risky behaviours, or even when they name you overtly radical. Nothing takes place without first having a dream and God's vision is the beginning of reality.

So, let yourself daydream a bit. Ask this question often: 'Why couldn't this be possible?' Open your mind wide to new approaches. Be willing to take a risk, or even be thought mad when you talk about your God-given dreams. Create the future as God reveals it to you.

This issue of Revive proves there has been a lot of dreaming going on. Enjoy getting to know some of God's dreamers who wanted to see his vision become reality. Their stories and ministries amaze me. All I can say is 'Dream on!'

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