Aligning Reality with our Wildest Dreams
Today, my devotional is the featured blog on my friend and fellow Christian author Alexis Goring's Devotionals for the Heart "God is Love" blog.
By Jessica Brodie
Have you ever set your sights on something far-off, then dreamed about how wonderful it would be? When I was in my twenties, I longed for children. I began to idealize motherhood, imagining my life would change completely the moment I gave birth—I’d suddenly be mature, have it all together, live a life of bliss and maternal joy.
Life certainly did change when I finally had kids at age 30, and most of those changes were wonderful, but it wasn’t all perfection. I had plenty of days I wanted to pull out my hair or lamented having to pack an entire diaper bag before heading out for a simple trip to the mall. I had a notion of what I thought life would be, but the reality of my future was different—good, but different.
I spent some time as a single mom a few years later, and I was overjoyed when my husband, Matt, and I fell in love and he proposed. But again, I had an idealized vision of what our future would be when we finally exchanged vows. I couldn’t wait for our wedding date to hurry up and get here. Not only did I want to share my home with my best friend and the love of my heart, but I also was eager to have a partner in the home to help shoulder finances and child-rearing tasks. I imagined post-marital life would be much like our dating life, only full-time.
In reality, the intimacy and deep, abiding, Christ-centered love proved to be even better, though the future didn’t exactly match my expectations. Romantic nights at the movies were sometimes exchanged for other romantic moments—like holding hands while buying our first washing machine when my old one finally died.
In truth, I’ve been picturing my future in one way or another since I was a child, and reality and expectation don’t always align. For instance, I always expected summer break would be amazing, but it ended up being kind of boring after a few weeks.