Last night I watched American Idol.  I watched as many contestants were eliminated.  Some cried.  Some were angry.  Some talked about how this failure would not take their dream away, yet many responded indicating that this rejection was, in fact, the death of their dreams. They were angry at the judges for not seeing the talent within them and for denying them the dream of their hearts. 

I felt reflective as I watched.  I wondered, “Can someone else kill your dreams?”

I’ve certainly experienced times when people misunderstood my dreams, shamed me for dreaming, called my dreams impossible or foolish.  I imagine we have all experienced that.  

And how have we responded? 

….in anger? 

…in disappointment? 

…in resolve to never give up? 

…in retreat by learning to hide that dream somewhere deep within us? 

…in fear? 

…in rejection? 

Oh, there are many ways we respond to the dream killers. They are probably people who themselves have allowed their dreams to shrivel up and die.  Therefore, they respond in anger or frustration or manipulation when they see a dream living in someone else – especially if that dream has a semblance of their own dream. 

People in the church are typically more likely to be dream killers than those outside the church walls.  Sadly, I’ve found it true so many times. They respond to our dreams with cautions and boundaries. Yet many times the outside world understands dreaming better than the church world.   Read more...