i have a dream

I have a dream.

I've had this dream for quite some time, if I'm going to be honest here.

It's not to become a doctor or to be a fashion designer or to be a lawyer or a photographer.  Heck, I just decided that I want to go to college.  Even that has never been a for sure in my life.

I've always known that I wanted to do something that I absolutely love when I "grow up".  I don't want to waste all this money going to college pursuing a career I would be forced to do because of all the money I spent pursuing it.  With the world pressuring me lately, it's really been on my mind lately.  What the heck I do want to do with my life.  

A lovely teacher I had over the summer said to ask yourself these three questions when pondering what to do with your life: "What do you love to do?   What do other people tell you you're good at?  Would it glorify God?"  I wrote it down and thought about those three questions for a long time.

Photography kept coming back into my mind.  I love it.  People say I'm good at it.  Does it glorify God...?  Not sure.  Plus, I'm not exactly sure if that's my biggest passion in life.  It's definitely a big passion, but it's not on top.  (Now don't get me wrong.  There are not enough words to explain how much I love photography.  I will always take photographs.  Always.  I've just realized it's not what I'm going to pursue professionally in the future ;)) I've always said I wanted to impact that world.  I couldn't figure out how to use photography to impact the world, and thinking about my future, I can't see myself being just a photographer for the rest of my life.  I just couldn't figure it out.

But here's what I realized.

Somewhere between when God sent me to Africa and when we had foster kids I realized what I was made for.  I realized what was really laid on my heart to do.  Here's the bottom line: I have a heart for orphans and no matter where I go in life it will always be tugging at my heart.  Always.  I can count on that.

So I pondered that for quite some time.  Still am, and I probably still will for the next threeish years.  I asked myself the three questions.  What do I love?  Orphans & Adoption.  What do other people tell me I have a heart for?  Orphans & Adoption.  Would it glorify God?  Heck yes.

So, during the last few months that I've really been pondering this, I realized.

I have a dream.

I have a dream to watch and help babies and kids come home forever through the wonderful gift of adoption.  I have a dream to love orphans the way God loves us.  I have a dream to be used in whatever way possible all in order to advocate and love on orphans.  I have a dream to pursue this heart God gave me for orphans for adoption for the rest of my life.

So we'll see.  I have absolutely no idea what this means for my life, but I feel that I've finally figured all this out.  Kind of.  So stay tuned, you never know where this crazy roller coaster called life will take me in the next 3 years.

All I know is.... I have never been so completely excited for my future in my whole life.