“The moment the moon is finally full, it immediately begins to wane. This is the way things are; this is the rhythm of being; these are things you can never change. Like the moon, our dreams, our loves, our hopes wax and wane, ebb and flow, rise and fall. Life comes in waves, and the way to live is to find a way to ride the waves.”- Ann Voskamp
In Chapter 1 (“In the Beginning”) of WayMaker: Finding the Way to the Life You’ve Always Dreamed Of, Ann Voskamp stresses the importance of knowing you’re wanted in the beginning. Because when you don’t feel really wanted, it’s possible to end up somewhere you never wanted — somewhere you never dreamed. Then, like the children of Israel, you seek an exodus. You want a way out of things that hurt beyond words. An exodus, Ann observes, to a promised, expansive way of life.
Consequently, Ann wonders, when you think about all that’s going wrong in your one and only life, how do you hope to find a way out? Your own way to your own dream come true? Most significantly, Ann asserts, the dream isn’t about experiencing miraculous things. Rather, the dream centers on the experience of others knowing us in a miraculous way.
In addition, Ann underscores, detours provide the way for dreams and destinies to actually come true. And that destiny we all ultimately dream of involves a destination where we feel ultimately seen, safe, soothed, and secure. And when we feel this way, we can see our deepest dreams come true. Even in the midst of nightmares.
In conclusion, Ann emphasizes, life becomes hard when we expect it to be easy. Also, if you buy into the lie that life’s supposed to be heaven on earth, suffering turns into a torturous hell. Ann adds:
“Life is really hard because that is the reality of being alive. Life is hard in a thousand ways, and what comes easiest to us is getting lost.”
Today’s question: What Scriptures steady you as your hopes wax and wane? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Expectational Positioning System”
