What’s your biggest fear? What’s your greatest dream? Have they always been the same fears and dreams? Why is your biggest fear… your biggest fear? Donald Miller, in a recent blog post, said, ”The great lives are lived in the places we most fear. If we fear being rejected, the great story has us standing at the door with flowers in our hands, if we fear losing love, the great stories have us letting that person go rather than clinging to them. If we fear taking a chance on a dream, the great stories have us quitting our jobs.”
I’ve realized I have one life, a very short one, when considering all there is to do and see. The choices I make unfold the story of my life, and I’ve made it a priority to press into my dreams regardless of how scary they are. I haven’t aways been this determined, or intentional, and it’s not easy. But I’ve realized that I truly am living a story…. now…. in this moment. In the moments when I have the opportunity to choose between what’s easy and what is right, between what puts me out of my comfort zone and what keeps me feeling safe, I’m making a choice to live a good story or not.
I once feared I’d never find the right person to marry…. I could have easily said it was my greatest fear. I also feared letting someone delve that deeply into my heart, because there was a chance they might break it. Two fears rooted deeply within me that could have easily prevented me from seeing my dreams come true. I dated Christopher despite those voices of fear trying to convince me otherwise… I let myself fall in love even though I knew I could have my heart broken…. and I said “I do” as I promised to love him forever, understanding we’re both susceptible to human error. I made choices to take chances on a dream… and I married someone who’s better than any dreams I could have dreamed.
I once feared. I still do. But what scares me more than those fears is the idea of letting my dreams slip away un-pursued. And as Langston Hughes put it so eloquently, “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams go, life is a barren field, frozen with snow.”
A photographer by the name of Jeremy Cowart, someone I look up to immensely, has recently taken up a project by the name of Fears vs. Dreams along with To Write Love on Her Arms. If you’d like to check out the video they made, you can view it here. It’s pretty powerful….
Here’s just a few shots from our wedding day…. you can view more on our fantastic photographers Gavin and Erin’s blog…
Photo Credit, Used with Permission: (Gavin Wade Photographers)
Photo Credit, Used with Permission: (Gavin Wade Photographers)
Photo Credit, Used with Permission: (Gavin Wade Photographers)
