I’ve been doing some thinking about the subject of “real life.” I’ve held many conversations with people about this subject, and generally those conversations are recollections of past situations where we felt there may have been some excessive sheltering or brainwashing going on, or in some way our surroundings were not what we preferred our life to be comprised of. We felt needlessly restricted. We felt like captives in one way or another. After a lengthy description of that life, the conversations turn the page to the chapter entitled “but then I entered REAL life.” I was thinking about the meaning of “real.” Were we incorrectly defining “real” during those conversations? Was it just a matter of semantics? I will be dealing with “dreams” and “real life” in a fairly broad sense, as I do not want to paint everyone’s picture. Make your own strokes on the canvas.
I think that I have had a bit of right and a bit of wrong in those discussions. What I am now realizing about my involvement in those conversations is that I was complaining way too much about something that was merely one season in a life that includes many seasons. Perhaps my ideals were and are correct. Perhaps the situation I was in was truly incorrectly guided by the institutions involved. But where do we find it really necessary to complain? Would I really have come to hold to what is ideal if I had not endured those seasons of life?
Bringing it back to the discussion of “real life” more specifically, I think we all have dreams about what we envision reality to look like, and a lot of those dreams generally are things that are not a part of present reality. And there is nothing wrong with dreaming. I believe God has created us to be creative - to create and develop our lives and to pursue progress. I believe that we are essentially built to build. And dreams are the first step. However, dreamers are often complainers. Complainers because their dreams are still nothing but dreams. How they think things should be is not how things are. They begin to feel that their proposed utopia is the only way where things are acceptable.
And I must say that I think I have a lot of dreams and visions for how things should be in various arenas of life. And here is where I find myself getting discouraged. I want things to be in order the way I order it. Often I find myself discouraged and discontent because what I want my life to be comprised of seems so far away. I begin to lose sight of all the good that God has already formed into my life. I complain about things of the past – a past that was handcrafted by God for my proper development. My present is where my past has brought me. And my present will take me to a future that God has already mapped out. “Real life” is the life God has already given you. You do not need to seek another reality. My wife often tells me “be fully where you are.” This is great advice. We must remember that fulfilling our dreams does not make life better. Only God is the author of our story. We need to be fully committed to whatever life God has us in right now. But do not forget that you are a creative being. Maybe our creativity will not bring us to build the second Eiffel Tower or have several pieces in the Louvre or write the next big novel series worthy of Hollywood. But our creativity, enabled and developed by God (and only trifled with by our own laziness) is just enough to be who we are meant to be in any season of life. Do you have dreams? Then press toward their fulfillment. Maybe things don’t always turn out the way we want them to. Maybe our situation isn’t ideal. But be the influence God has developed you to be in the situation He has put you in. Show the passion that everyone else is afraid to show. Say the things that everyone else probably thinks but is too afraid to say. If anything you will stir waters that need to be stirred. And sometimes that is enough. Sometimes the plan for our life is to be a water stirrer. It’s amazing what the broad, long term affects can be when waters are consistently stirred. Sure, maybe your immediate vision does not become anything. But you have done a lot more good than you think because you’ve gotten people thinking. You’ve gotten people accustomed to seeing someone show passion for something. And no matter your situation, passion is viral. It’s just a matter of time. And passion gets things done. Nobody cares what you have to say if you don’t show passion and put feet to your passion. You’ve seen it in various churches time and time again. It doesn’t matter what your pastor says. If he doesn’t seem to care that much about it, then it means very little to you. On the flip side, maybe you pastor just has one simple thing he wants to get across. It’s not studied out through hours of preparation. But it’s something he’s got a passion for. That is what you are prone to connect with. You aren’t going to connect with a message that, while perhaps put together professionally with all the historical background, exegetical enlightenment, and systematic development, still lacks genuine, unprocessed, unpracticed passion.
This is the person you should be. Spiritualize “grab life by the horns.” Put your back into it. Get serious about Christ. Get real with God. Get passionate about His kingdom. Get reconnected with your family. Get intimate with your church. Get involved in your surrounding community. Your consistency in these areas will grow over time, and as it does you will begin to realize that real life has been around you all along, and the ability to develop your dreams into reality has always been right there in front of you. It was just hiding behind all your complaining, laziness, and insecurity in your relationship with God - and His relationship with you.