Dreams, Pathways, and the Journey
I came across these pictures from March 2018. It was just a year after our house fire and 3 months before our contractor would walk off the job, stealing $100,000 and our toilets.
We were at a dealer, looking at campers when I took this picture. Issa liked the bunk beds. The dream of adventuring in a camper was there then, just a spark, fueled by seeing all those shiny new campers.
I was barely working. Hurricane Harvey had taken most of my clients as they all struggled to survive in the economic aftermath of that storm. Bill was working in a job he hated. He was sacrificing his happiness to support our family financially.
In 3 months we’d be shouldered with the decision; sell the house as is or deplete all our savings and finish it ourselves.
We finished the house.
I put things like brick and toilets on credit cards, praying the money would show up by the time the bill was due.
I never paid a cent on credit card interest.
I learned how to be a contractor. We built our house. Friends and neighbors hung trim, laid floor, tile, painted.
The dream of a camper and adventures just sat in the corner of my heart, silently smoldering, waiting patiently for its turn.
Life today is the flip flopped, inside out version of the life from this photo.
Our home is ours, built with our hands, and the hands of people we love, and more than I could have ever imagined.
Bill spends the day fulfilling his heart by homeschooling our daughter and working production for sport events.
My clients are steady and loyal and I’m so very thankful I get to do something I enjoy for people who appreciate what I can do. Seeing other people’s businesses grow and flourish is the greatest reward.
We’ve been accepted as an Ambassador Family for Kids Who Explore and I’ll be a contributing writer for Houston Moms in 2022.
And, in the middle of a pandemic we bought a camper from our friends, one that was filled with a history of people we love. Because we built our house it was no big deal to gut that camper and redo it. One trial along our journey afforded us the knowledge to fulfill another dream.
Today we take that camper on adventures.
That dream, the small spark from 2018, today it dances a dance of celebration in my soul.
If you’ve made it this far through reading this, I want you to know, dreams take time.
They take energy.
They take fuel.
Your dream today is a blurry image that burns in your heart. It may not end the way you intended, but often it’s greater than you ever imagined. I thought we would just buy a camper, the side dream of renovating one was too great. But here we are.
Even if your dreams are only silently smoldering, don’t let them die out! Take tiny steps if needed. Just thinking on your dreams helps give them life. Draw a picture. Write them down. Research. Make a vision board.
And remember, the pathway to your dreams remains to be seen. You can’t see the entire path when you’re on it. It’s just like hiking. You know where it starts and a little about where it ends, but the trail is mysterious, not every turn, rock, or elevation is listed on a map. You don’t know what wildlife you may see or what views might take your breath away. Keep fueling those dreams. Enjoy the challenges along the way. Be flexible as the pathway is rarely what we imagine.
When that dream comes into focus, my God is it beautiful. When you see the path you’ve traveled…wow.
This week, my heart is bubbling with gratitude. I’m just as thankful for the dream as I am thankful for the path that lead us here.
Also, I’m not done. I am bursting with dreams. I’m seeing the breathtaking views along the journey towards those dreams.
Keep fueling your dream friends.
Enjoy the path, it may lead you to a place greater than you could have ever dreamt.
