"I work on the quantity of my dreaming, God works on the quality."
I find myself using this daily affirmation to remind myself that God is here to help me, not humiliate me.
Within this prayer, I learn faith and trust. I learn how to be receptive. I become "disciplined in a graceful way."
I am gently urged to keep dreaming the beautiful dream while accepting that God is already producing beauty in the here and now.
Everything that is happening for me now is God's prayer being answered. If I can accept that in the now, my prayers are answered, than I can accept this other prayer in my heart that says,
"I have bigger dreams than this."
What does it look like when I work on the quantity and I allow God to work on the quality? I hold the vision of my dream. I ask God for help to make that dream a reality and I don't stop dreaming that dream unless I am told otherwise.
I might get sidetracked. I might get redirected. But ultimately, I am steady with my dream even when the boat is rocking, I use my conversations with God to steady me, for God's guidance is not the life raft that saves me but the lighthouse that directs me home.
“A lighthouse doesn’t save the ships; it doesn’t go out and rescue them, it’s just this pillar that helps to guide people home.” – Lea Michele
This side note is really important: I don't ask for God's permission, I ask for his help. There is a difference. When we ask for permission, we assume we are unworthy. We assume a shaming God, not a benevolent loving one.
I ask for God's help and then I become the vessel to which I witness God working through me to pave the way. God will send me people, books, or situations that are in alignment with my dreams. This is how the quality unfolds. God hears my dream and God produces the "matter" to which the dream becomes a physical one.
When I do not believe in my dreams and "give up" on the idea, the less I see the path forward producing itself in this reality. The quantity of my dreaming decreasing is directly related to my current reality being misaligned to my dream.
It is a simple equation. If I stop dreaming about becoming a fashion designer, I become something else instead. If Ed stops dreaming about producing his own album, Ed becomes something else instead. If we stop dreaming the dream, the dream ceases to exist.
In some cases, I won't get what I expected. I used to believe that this meant I was unworthy. On the contrary, it means the exact opposite & boldy-so, when I do not get what I asked for it means that I am exponentially more worthy than I believed myself to be!
So, guess what? Either way...God wants us to win.
The quantity of the dreaming is not all "in the head/heart." It is not just a thought that produces the quality. Prayer can be an action. I learn how to discern; should I take action or should I wait?
I tell God, "I want to write a book someday."
God gives me a blog. This is an indication that the quality of my dream can begin sooner than I thought!
I tell God, "I want to own land one day."
God does not give me a plot of land right away. Why? Because I am unworthy?
No, because I am SO worthy that God knows owning land is a great deal of responsibility. I will need others to help me so that I can truly appreciate the land in peace. Waiting does not imply "no." God encourages me to keep envisioning the land, the people, the purpose…
So, essentially, dreaming becomes a formula to which we envision "my will become thy will."
Have you dreamed today? Take a moment now. What do you see yourself doing in this dream? Who is with you? What is in your environment? What are you feeling? Close your eyes if you need to. Most dreams begin in the darkness of a seed.
"For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20-21).
Open your eyes and claim, "This or something better than this."
Look around your current reality. Is there anything here that you once prayed for that you now have?
When we say "Thank you" we acknowledge that the dream is already unfolding. Through our gratitude now, we become more at peace with the pace to which God reveals the quality of what is to come.
Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance. —ECKHART TOLLE
Thank you God, for this beautiful foundation to which we can dream the beautiful dream.
