dreams

Last night I got to re-live my childhood.

The only movies we ever owned growing up were Disney movies,

and that was perfectly okay with me.

My brothers and I had a favorite that we watched all. the. time.

The Rookie.

It's a story about a boy with a love for baseball. 

He lived and breathed it. The baseball field was home when he didn't have one. 

Then he got hurt.

And never played again. 

Years later, while coaching a high school team, his players made him promise to try again.

Just to pitch on the field, one more time. 

So he tried out, and ended up as the pitcher in a MAJOR LEAGUE game.

He lived his dream. 

I almost cried, of course. Disney does that to you.

And then it made me think.

What are my dreams?
What drives me? What embodies my passions and gives me a reason to live life more fully?

...then this image immediately came to mind.

Titled "Denim to Lace" by Greg Olsen, this painting is in a book called "I am a Child of God" 

that I have cherished since I was a little girl. 

This page has always seemed like it was meant for me. 

It reads "Because I am God's child, He shows me the way to my dreams"

This is a girl whose tennis shoes are worn and dusty from running, climbing, exploring.  

Her life is often a whirlwind, and she hurriedly unlaces those dusty shoes.

She pulls her hair back, begins to carefully adjust her ballet shoes,

and time stops.

something whispers: "this is what you're meant to do."

I have cried a lot over ballet. I've iced a lot of bruised and blistered feet. 

I've spent literally thousands of hours, perfecting something that requires the grace of an artist and the tenacity of an athlete. 

At times I've felt like I wasn't good enough. 

And then at times I've felt empowered by something beyond myself.

I have felt the love of God as I dance. 

Every day when I take off my tennis shoes and baseball mitt (so to speak), and enter that world, time still stops. 

"this is what you're meant to do."

I'm living my dream.