As it does, life happens. Somewhere along the way we have disappointments. People and our lives themselves can let us down. But God never does. We are all born with a spirit that longs for freedom, joy and adventure, and many things can crush that delicate spirit within us.
For me, it was sickness. When I was six years old I was diagnosed with epilepsy. Ever since then, growing up, I have been deprived of many things that have made it hard for me to live my life like a normal teenage girl. Often the simplest things in life that people can take for granted, are hard. Things like going out places with friends, doing my college work, and getting a job. Now that I am at the legal age in the UK for learning to drive, all my friends are already driving, and even my sister is catching up and will be driving soon. Sometimes it can feel like I am not capable of anything and am always the one left behind.
I know from experience that many of us can also feel unimportant, unwanted, and forgotten by people and God, but that is far from the truth. One verse in particular has recently begun to rest in my heart from Jeremiah, as a beautiful reminder. It is no doubt my favourite verse, because it gives me something so priceless.
And that something is two words that I felt had been very much lacking in my life before I came to know Jesus. As I read them, they speak such encouragement over my life and heart. A declaration spoken over me by God himself! Who knew these two words could have that much impact? You probably know by now which verse I am talking about. If not, then here it is:
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares The Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." [Jeremiah 29:11]
Both words tell me that I have a hope that I can hold close to me always, and I can be confident in it whatever the circumstance. And future, because I have a marvelous future awaiting me despite what my present looks like now or what my past has previously held. The reassurance this single verse gives me is so irreplaceable. Reassurance that everything is going to be okay, because God has a plan and I don’t have to run around in circles trying to figure everything out myself.
So today marks the beginning of a new story. It’s time to bring our dreams out of the darkness into the glorious light that Jesus himself gives us, and make them a reality. No longer do our lives have to be a canvas of broken dreams, because God is here to gather the paintbrushes again and create the most spectacular piece of artwork in us.
Create A Dream Jar!
At the start of the year I had a lot of dreams in my heart that I knew God had placed there for a reason. So I decided to do my own dream jar! A few weeks ago I was just resting in God’s presence, and the jar filled with things that I was believing for caught my eye. And after only a few seconds of looking at it, I knew what I had to do. With no more than a gentle whisper, God was telling me to pull out the rolled up pieces of paper and pray over them one by one. To my amazement, the first few pieces of paper that I pulled out were things that I held very dear to my heart. And as I went on, it seemed somewhat magical. . .
To make my jar, I kept it simple due to not having much time and energy, but you can be creative as you like!
For this craft you will need:
A small mason jar
Some colourful card or paper
Vintage lace
A piece of ribbon
Scissors
Pen & pencil
Ruler
Glue gun
Now for the fun part! (Continued on pg 26)
1. Firstly, you’ll want to decorate your jar with your vintage lace, or any other materials that you have decided to use. Make sure that you have covered your working space in some newspaper or with some old magazine pages.
~~ Emily Rosanna