The Power Of A Dream

Yesterday we celebrated 50 years since the "I have a dream" speech was given by Dr. Martin Luther King.  This speech always resonates with me as I'm sure it does most listeners.  I think this speech would've been much different if Dr. King had said, "I have an opinion" or "I have a right" or "I had a thought"....no...nothing is more inviting or inspiring as someone telling you of their dreams.

The anniversary of this famous speech this year really took a hold of me for many reasons - I just saw "The Butler" (a wonderful fim) with my boyfriend, I have been reading about Dr. King recently, I work at a place that advocates and actively fights for social change, and I am absolutely in love with a man whom 50 years ago I might not have been able to have a public relationship with (based on the color difference in our skin.) 

In my Policy and Parameters class on Tuesday we discussed how social policies are dictated by society.  What I mean by this is while the government absolutely has the final decision on what policies will be accepted, it is society that dictates what the need is for a change to the government.  For example:  today, if you are in a marriage and your husband beats you, it's a legal problem (because domestic violence is against the law.)  50 years ago if your husband beat you, it wasn't a legal problem, it was a personal problem.  This changed when certain groups (namely the women's lib movement) decided that this wasn't just a personal problem but a problem to society.

It was in the same period that a young Carol Klein Combes (then Carol Klein) led a group of college students from Brooklyn College in the March on Washington.  Ms. Klein was raised in an Irish-German-Polish household by first generation American parents in Brooklyn where there were more "immigrants" than anything.  As a child playing in a park, Ms. Klein had the luckiest of opportunities to meet Mr. Jackie Robinson who (along with other professional baseball players who just happened to be in her neighborhood that day) played with her and her friends.  Carol came from a working-class family with a father who worked in a ship yard, she studied hard in school and made good grades; her dream was to be a teacher.  So when Carol learned of the movement that would become the famous March on Washington, she rallied her classmates and became a leader in the cause.  A few years later Ms. Klein saw that dream from childhood realized and became a teacher, educating children and sticking with her convictions.  My grandmother Carol was a fantastic lady, very strong, very opinionated, and very firm in her beliefs; she marched because she firmly believed in Dr. King's dream but also because she saw something in society that she knew deep down was wrong and decided to do something about it.  She remembered the stories that her parents and grandparents told her about "coming to America" and the stigma that they faced every day; she remembered the newspaper clipping "Help Wanted:  Irish dogs need not apply" ...she marched because enough was enough. 

It is because of the strong men and women who stood up for what is right and endured ruthless beatings, imprisonment, harassment, and being spit upon that I am the person I am today - a woman who has the right to vote, a university graduate, an advocate for social change, a theologian, and a chaser of dreams.  While at Southeastern University, our president, Dr. Mark Rutland used to give his famous "dream sermon" which encouraged every student to study what they were passionate about and to become the upstanding people that God created them to be - to be world changers.  I remember that sermon as clearly as I remember the famous words of Dr. King.  I have lived so many of my dreams; I work in a place that helps those in need, I have graduated with my Bachelor's Degree, I was accepted to graduate school and in a few months I will have attained my Master's Degree, and the greatest of all dreams I have been blessed to see fulfilled is that I have found love with the person that God has had for me all along, the person that I prayed for.

There are so many more dreams that I have; to become a Licensed Social Worker, to get married, to one day have children, to raise my children in a place where they are free to worship God and to learn as much as they can as best as they can, to love who they choose, to own my own home, to see peace in this world, to see others care for their planet and be kind to their fellow man, to see selfishness and greed abolished along with poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness, violence, animal cruelty, and human trafficking among many other things. 

One dream was enough to change a nation and that dream is celebrated every day...what kind of place would the world be if you shared and actively pursued your dreams?

grey hairs

I'll never forget the moment I discovered my first grey hair.  I was a senior in college, I was in my white Acura Integra stopped at the light by Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland, Florida.  My hair was pulled back and I noticed this glinting strand near my right ear as I looked at my reflection in the rear-view mirror.  I pulled the mirror closer to get a better look and sure enough, there was my first grey hair...at 20 years old!

"20?! That's too young for a grey hair!" I was more amused than anything else.  I allowed myself a few moments to marvel at that grey hair that stood for so many things.  I had no doubt in my mind what had caused the grey, just a week prior I was not so care-free as the university I was attending let me know that my student loan company had decided to not renew my loan for this, my last year of school.  I frantically called my parents to try and solve this puzzle that had been dropped in my life.  Neither of my parents had the funding, my Mom called the school's financial aid office to see what could be done (if anything) but alas, nothing could be done.  Later that week, a sweet woman in the financial aid office found another loan for me to take out at a higher rate but it meant that I could stay in school and graduate!

I remember the feeling of panic, knowing there was no one I could turn to for financial help.  I had just moved into my first apartment off campus with a friend who was depending on my rent.  I had also just started my first week of training at my new job.  Everything was falling in place....why would God allow this? I remember the sobs, the long phone calls with my Mom and my pastors who agreed with me in prayer that God would make a way.  Desperation has its merits and sometimes it takes everything to fall apart to find that God is truly the only One in control.  He had a plan all along but it took me having no other option to trust Him.

Six years later, I am in my Master's program (something I never thought I would do) and I have many many grey hairs but I will never forget the discovery of that first one.  I will never forget the stress, the feeling of urgency and helplessness, and then the sudden peace that washed over me as I allowed myself to let go of the reins and let my Creator manage my life.  I know that no matter what comes, there will always be a way where there seems to be no way, and to just lean back and breathe a prayer to the Author and Finisher of my faith, "Ok God, I surrender, You can take it from here."  Whatever tasks or trials, obstacles or challenges, I hope that this story is an encouragement to you and a reminder that He is Faithful.

Just Keep Moving - Be Still And Know That I Am God....

I'm dipping my toe in the waters of this blog again...so much has changed since I started this blog and the journey has not always been pretty.  I have updated the design and hope that it will somehow be repurposed.

In December of 2012 I embarked on the most amazing journey with the man of my dreams; he is incredible, everything I have prayed for (and more!) and the best part is, he's here to do this thing called life with me.  Our relationship has had its tests, right from the beginning but God has been Faithful.  We're now talking about weddings, engagements, and how we're going to grow old together.

The busy-ness of life has not stopped but seems to go at a warp speed leaving my head spinning! There's my Master's program that I started last fall, my new job at a non-profit organization for domestic violence, a new housing situation this fall, an internship, and much much more! With all of this going on, I find myself getting dizzy at the thought of all that my life is and all that I have to do.  I make endless lists and reminders in my head to do this and do that, new money-making ideas are constantly going through my head, exercise plans to commit to, recipes to try, DIY projects to undertake, wedding ideas, as well as what I could be doing better in life and more specifically, in my relationships.

At the time of reflection that I allot myself (more frequently now then ever) I find myself yearning for more quality time with family and friends.   It wasn't untill recently that I realized that this life of busyness that I have created has eliminated such time for fellowship.  I'm so exhausted by my daily grind that by the time my "off days" arrive, I don't have the energy to do anything but channel surf.  It's in these moments of quiet reflection that I feel the closest to God, to take a moment from my busy lifestyle, and find Him.  True, He's always there, but I have been more and more searching for time alone with Him as opposed to time committed to 29,000 other things...those "things" just don't hold as much value.

So, in the crazyness of your life...dishes to wash, laundry to do, rooms to be dusted, beds to be straightened, cars to be vacuumed, bills to be paid, phone calls to be made, appointments to be set and rescheduled...let your "just keep moving" mentality take a break and find yourself hitting the pause button, to be still and know that He is God.