Are You Living Your Dream or Someone Else’s Dream?

By the time my two daughters reached high school, I felt it was my duty to guide them into their future career fields. Being a teacher, I thought it was the ideal job for a woman, and set the wheels of parental guidance in motion for them to pursue teaching.

My two daughters were very good kids, and not rebellious. However, I began noticing tug-of-war matches with them every time I tried to apply more persuasive words to my dream of their becoming a teacher.

“No! I don’t want to be a teacher; I want to work in fitness and health,” my first-born would cry out.

“No! I don’t want to be a teacher. I want to work in fashion,” my baby girl would emphatically say.

Had these two obedient kids of mine started being rebellious kids of the 80’s like many of their peers? Had they lost all respect for my guidance?

Thankfully, my pastor at the time got my attention in one of his sermons one Sunday morning.

“The way the limb on a tree is bent, is the way it will grow. You can’t un-bend the limb and make it grow in the opposite way that it was formed. Parents, find out what your child’s dreams and gifts are; encourage and prepare him educationally in that area. That is the way God has bent them in order to be used by Him to help others.”

I finally got it! Things were then set in motion in our home for their dreams to become a reality. Today, they are happily working in their chosen career fields and being used of the Lord the way they were bent! (Some of you may know them---Heather Bush Frierson and Crystal Bush Breaux.)

The question is, “How do you know if you’ve been living someone else’s dream?” Allow me to list a couple of warning signs I have observed that you might consider as a checklist for your life.

Fear of Letting Others Down – Many times people follow their parents, teachers, or someone else’s guidance in order to win their approval, thus giving up what they really want for themselves.

You Dread Going to Work – We all have to earn a living, but if you are miserable in the job that you have, perhaps you are in the wrong job.

Family Business – Sometimes, out of fear of family pressure, people go into the family business to carry on the linage of being a doctor, lawyer, or in some cases a pastor, only to find out it is not a fit for them.

Choosing a Career for the Money – Maybe you saw someone who was successful at something financially, and you decide that you wanted to do the same thing. However, it wasn’t because you would love the work, but because you wanted that person’s lifestyle.

You Feel Empty Inside or Passionless About What You Do – You’re going through the motions of a career, but feeling no passion for it at all.

It is never too late, nor are you too old to pursue the dream God has placed in your heart. How do I know?

It happened to me when I felt the call in mid-life to leave my teaching career and embrace the changes and transitions occurring in my life in order to fulfill the following scripture: Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes (Isaiah 54:2 NIV).