I’ve had some rich conversations over the past two weeks. Some friends are in challenging places, and when it came time for me to respond to their stories, words were hard to find. I hope that compassion was communicated.

Perhaps you are in a crushing experience. You’re tired of fighting. You’ve held on to hope and clutched your dream. You’ve not let anyone too close for fear that your resolve would be challenged. You’ve controlled things quite artfully. No one knows that your iron will is fragile.

No one can predict the moment when someone will stop fighting. Resolve to make things work will crumble. The hardened exterior of sheer grit will melt away, and surrender to God’s providence will creep in. The humility of true surrender will mark a stunning turning point as you raise your hands toward heaven.  “I place all I am, all I have, and all I want into Your hands, God.”

Dreams are fragile things in a fallen world. Perfection here is impossible. The cancer of sin metastasizes and touches everything I want. While good things do happen and pleasurable seasons come for a time, everything perfect is meant to be a taste of things to come. My hope is deferred.  And ultimately, loss and grief will consume me if I don’t learn to invest all my dreams into the storehouses of heaven.  David said, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7 Abdicating my dreams into the hands of a God who will give me all things brings me peace.

The cataclysmic moment of surrender is messy.  At first, there is despair as I acknowledge that my dream is broken. But then, misplaced hope gives way to rock-solid hope, culminating in the restoration of Eden. Everything I long for will one day be mine.