Dreamer

I was born a dreamer - a kid with my head in the clouds and a huge imagination, dreaming of a world of adventure that was always just around the corner. I spent hours imagining every detail of how things would turn out. For a while, I would see myself as an archaeologist...then a teacher...then a vet...but under it all, never wavering, ran one dream - writing. Whatever else I saw myself doing, in my mind, I was always writing about it.

As it so often goes in life, though, I grew up and my dreams changed. I started college, met the love of my life, and lived my fairy tale - love, marriage, and motherhood. As my boys started to grow up, I chased a new dream, one which will be complete in May when I graduate as a registered dental hygienist. I dream of a great career, financial stability, and the chance to make a difference through medical missions trips. But buried beneath it all, pushed aside and covered in dust, the same dream hid - writing.

I dabbled with it for years, satisfying the need to write with journaling and blogging. A year ago, things started getting more serious, more focused. As I drew closer to God, He slowly began to reveal His big dreams for me...and to my surprise and joy, He dusted off that long abandoned dream of writing...to be more specific, writing fiction.

The first few steps were so terrifying it took my breath away. Panic almost overwhelmed me as I posted my first fiction link-up, under a pen name, to Write On Edge - and shock silenced me as good reviews and feedback came in. So I posted again...and again...and suddenly, a whole new side of me was materializing. Characters and ideas that I'd dreamed of for years suddenly started coming alive on my laptop screen. I found myself talking to other writers online, getting feedback, and even joining a critique group.

In just a few months, this dream has become such a part of me that I know there's no going back. My dream of writing has become firmly planted in my mind. It's no longer just a general, random dream - it has a title, characters that I've been planning for years finally coming to life, twists and turns and subplots. It even has sequels - I have more ideas following the same characters.

This is, without a doubt, the most terrifying thing I have ever done. I can't count the times I've figured out just the right wording, written an intense scene, or poured my heart and soul into a piece, then looked up and silently asked, "Are you sure about this?" And He said yes. He's given me God-sized dreams, and I'm going to follow them with everything I have - because that's what He made me for.