HOLD ON TO YOUR DREAM

By John Santosuosso

In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall be made level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

          Isaiah 40:3-5

"Tell them about the dream, Martin."

          Mahalia Jackson

It is not easy to find. Thousands, perhaps millions, have walked over it, and gradually its words are fading away. In the steps of Washington's Lincoln Memorial a small, fading plaque still proclaims that this is where Martin Luther King stood when he gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. By accident I happened to see that on a live television broadcast. King's dream of liberty and equality for everyone is still just that, but if you heard his words that day you knew that with all his heart he believed eventually it would be a reality.

In ancient Judah the prophet Jeremiah repeatedly warned that the Babylonians (Chaldeans) would soon attack and send the Hebrews into a tragic exile. They did not listen, and his worst fears eventually became a reality. However, Jeremiah believed with all his heart this was not the end of the story. He went out and did what his neighbors must have thought a very strange thing. He bought a piece of real estate (Jeremiah 32). While some people do "flip houses," purchasing real estate is usually a long-term investment. Jeremiah knew that his God was faithful and would in His own time rescue His people. Jeremiah worried less about tomorrow and put his hope in God's eternity. He would not let go of his dream.

We are beginning a new year. That is often a time of hope but possibly more often one of doubt and even fear. What does tomorrow have in store for us? If you rely on Nostradamus to tell you I am afraid you are going to be disappointed. Even in the unlikely event one of his predictions is correct you will never know until after the event has happened.

But what are your dreams? For some the here and now is already difficult enough. It seems impossible to put much faith in tomorrow. However, that is exactly what the great men and women of history have often done. A winter at Valley Forge would have sent a lesser commander to the surrender table, but not George Washington. Jane Addams went into the slums of Chicago to establish settlement houses and salvage the unfortunate people who lived there. I believe it was coach Vince Lombardi who declared, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

Your dream may seem more modest. Maybe it is along the lines of helping an elderly neighbor or raising your children with love and care. It does not matter. Whatever your situation our Lord has put you here with a dream, even if you have been too busy to pay it much attention recently. Never let go of your dream. You are unique to the universe, and so is your dream.

In this New Year that might seem overwhelming. Remember they called the one the magi and the shepherds found Emmanuel, God With Us. No matter how dark the night may seem, the dawn will come, for though we may not always be aware of it, we do not walk alone.