Clay Dinosaurs

I sit on my yellow glider listening to the roaring noises drifting out through the windows. They are making dinosaurs out of colored clay at the table. They laugh at each others outrageous noises and silly dialogues. The giggles are purely contagious and time freezes and all I want is to keep this moment forever.

When does it change? At what moment do they "grow up" and loose this carefree, wide-eyed, innocence about life? It seems like an odd kind of countdown and I just want to press the time back and stop that moment from ever happening. I want them to dream every day of their life in the childlike perspective where everything is possible.

Garrett tells me what he is going to be when he grows up on an almost daily basis. So far he has covered everything from astronaut to firefighter to circus performer. Without a doubt in his mind that all he needs to do is simply choose and it will happen. I never want him to start stuffing those dreams down deep inside because they are "unrealistic", "unconventional" or "unlikely". Do I think he will end up rocketing to the moon? Not at all. That isn't the point. The point is that dreams will change over time, the important thing is to keep dreaming. Because when you stop dreaming it isn't only the wild and crazy dreams that you dismiss. The little, one-step-outside-your-box, what-would-people-think dreams usually get tossed out too.

And this emphasis on looking the part has started early with Shiloh. Even with as careful as I am to not define beauty as something you put on or dress up it seeps in. In the process of getting ready for church the other day Shiloh said to me "I have a dress on and now people will think I am beautiful. Can I wear a necklace to church it will make me look beautiful." And I cup her face and look her straight in the eyes and tell her that nothing is more beautiful than when she is simply Shiloh. And I want her to hear me that it doesn't matter what she wears or how she accessorizes, what makes her truly beautiful is her heart, her smile, the way that she laughs out loud when she finds something funny, how she dances to her own rhythm and is unconsciously humming all the time while she flits through the day in her own little world.

And I feel like I am raw emotion spilling everywhere and this season of life is so tender and special to me. I feel like I am on this journey of finding myself for the first time in my adult life and it is changing how I see God and how I feel God sees me and it is this beautiful, precious mess that I wouldn't trade for anything.

And I wish I could just sit in your life and hear your heart. Your successes and your failures. What makes you laugh and what makes you cry. Your story. This life you are bravely walking out every day even when it is hard and doesn't seem to make a difference. I want to cup your face look you straight in the eye and tell you that what makes you beautiful is you being unashamedly yourself. Thriving as the person that God created you to be. To tell you that it is time to start dreaming again. That your unique dreams have worth and value just like you do. To tell you not to give up.

Can we agree that life is just better with those kind of moments in them and then make it a priority to be that encourager for another woman in our circle? Guys, life can wear you down and it is so easy to get discouraged and just plain tired. We need to be speaking truth to our people just like we need our people to be speaking truth to us and we need to believe in dreams, both our own and our people's.

Keep Dreaming!