aiming for the stars

Photo by Keri Judd  French Blue

"Aim for the moon you may just fall upon a star" - Clement Jones

I often find myself paraphrasing this a tad & telling my four to aim for the stars & you may just hit a tree, if you aim for a tree you may only hit a blade of grass. Not quite as poetic, probably the voice of reality rather than of a dreamer, being a pragmatic sort, promote dreaming with a good dose of hard work and bended knee to achieve it. 

There is a Hebrew quote that also says, "without a vision the people perish". Often think of this when I  lose focus, feel like life is foggy, not quite perishing, but you get the drift. We all need to dream, to focus on something; our families, our work, our study, our causes, whatever empassions, motivates & drives us, pursuits or dreams that fill our heart & souls or we do just float along in life. 

There is a time to float and a time to fly, a time to plant and a time to reap [another kerri paraphrase!].

As the new year brings a natural inclination to set new goals and maybe readjust dreams I find myself as a mum journalling the hopes and aspirations I have for my four in this coming year. We had a fun time setting new year's resolutions for each other driving up the coast, though done in jest, much said was true. As a parent the balancing act is encouraging our kids to aim high, not too high that they get disillusioned or bitterly disappointed but high enough to stretch themselves beyond their comfort zone.  

Guess if we don't dream big, or have permission to let our imaginations run wild, we may never know.

Lest we forget the God factor. He is so often left out of the equation or brought in as a last resort rather than consulted in the dreaming, planning process. We put in our effort and leave the outcome to Him. This is a place of trust rather than of worry or striving. His invitation is to peace, not anxiety. I like this place and encourage my four to find Him in this.

Sunshine was given a book of devotions for Christmas by a treasured friend who lovingly prays for our family daily. She told me that the very first one she read really spoke to her. She said, "it's just for me, read it Mum". So grateful she could take it and apply it to her own life.

It was about doing ones best & letting God do the worrying. Sunshine errs on stressing rather than the relaxed lassez-faire attitude of some of her siblings. Being a perfectionist lends her to this, but she said her goal this year is to stress less & let God do the worrying. I thought for an 11yr old this was a very mature goal to have! For her a career in dance is aiming for the stars, but along the way she has other goals that will help her get there, stressing less is definitely one of them!

There are dreams that seem to be self serving and those that are inclusive of seeing others thrive - I think these dreams are often honoured, as we find the best life has to offer is in giving not just receiving.....

Cherishing time to dream

Cherishing my children's imaginations

#hope #expectations #anticipation #bring on 2013