courage.

Manifest Destiny:  The 19th Century American belief that the United States was meant to expand to the western shores of the continent.

While this idea was devastating for Native Americans and Mexicans, the expansion itself was pretty incredible.  The settlers had a dream (albeit a selfish one) and they pursued it even when it meant giving up everything they had, leaving behind everything they've ever known, to explore a land that was unknown to them.

Thousands of covered wagons lined the streets of Independence, Missouri, waiting for their turn to leave for the west.  They set their eyes on the vast, open land before them and saw not an empty field in foreign territory, but a land of opportunity, a new beginning, endless possibilities.  They had courage and were willing to make sacrifices to make their dreams a reality.

Dream great dreams and find the courage to live them.

The quote lining the top of this blog is one that I've kept at the forefront of my mind for years now.
It's the second half that now gives me pause.

I guess I've just stayed in the dreaming phase for too long.  I've had plans, had goals, had ideas, but never could muster the courage to pursue them.  Instead, I would accept defeat before I even began running.  I didn't run after my dreams because I saw them as an impossibility.  The open land set before me was intimidating rather than inspiring.

Recently, however, I took steps to make one of those dreams real, to pursue a desire of my heart.  Instead of backing down for fear of failure, I took on an active role in its potential realization.  And dang, it feels good.

Why, then, are we such a timid people?  Why do we not pursue with vigor the desires that God has placed in our hearts and the promises that He has made to us?

We serve a God bigger than our fears and doubts - a God of second chances and a God of endless possibilities.  Let us rest in that truth, but let it inspire us to run after that which is important to God, and thus to us.