It's Good to Dream!

Dreams

Paul Laurence Dunbar

What dreams we have and how they fly
Like rosy clouds across the sky;
Of wealth, of fame, or sure success;
Of love that comes to cheer and bless;
And how they wither, how they fade,
The waning wealth, the jilting jade -
The fame that for a moment gleams,
Then flies forever, -dreams, ah -dreams!

O burning doubt and long regret
O tears with which our eyes are wet,
Heart-throbs, heart-aches, the glut of pain,
The somber cloud, the bitter rain,
You were not of those dreams - ah? well,
Your full fruition who can tell?
Wealth, fame, and love, ah! love that beams
Upon our souls, all dreams - ah! dreams.

On the front page of yesterday's paper was a picture of a little girl that rides on my bus. She's the sweetest thing, is so kind and thoughtful of people around her. I've never met such a conscientious little girl. She's only five, but people can learn a lot from her.

I won't say why her picture was in the paper, for privacy reasons, but when I commented that I saw her daughter's picture the mother replied that her daughter had her two minutes of fame. We laughed. Later it made me think how just two minutes of fame is enough for most of us.

I got thinking. If we can dream it, that's enough sometimes. Being in the spotlight carries a lot of responsibility. When I think of political leaders that went down in history, many had destructive dreams and were not famous for doing good or good things.

Just think, God will give you and allow what ever you can handle, happen for you in the life he gave you. If you are willing to be used for good, so is God willing to use you.   

Dark, Rainy Days

The Rainy Day

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart, and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining,
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882) was born in Portland, Maine, U.S.A. Educated at Bowdoin College, he taught there and at Harvard.

Longfellow never had an opportunity to fly in an airplane as we do today. He understood that the sun was shining behind the clouds in theory, but would not see that for himself. Imagine how exciting it would have been be for him if he could visit the future and look out the window of a large aircraft and see the sun shining above the clouds.

We take flying for granted today and all the great discoveries that have made our lives better, or more comfortable. Consider the automobile, television, homes that are heated, or cooled with a flick of a switch, thanks to electricity. Consider how the internet enables people to communicate with others all over the world.

If people back one hundred years or more ago could only have seen into the future.

We have much to be thankful for. Still, we could worry about the future of this earth. It seems like the great discoveries man has discovered could destroy it. I know that many people are concerned about the future of the earth. And no wonder. When I listen to or, read the news there are a lot of sad events taking place every where.

But I refuse to be fearful of the future because the creator of the world has the whole world in his hands. The Bible, God's word says that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing can overcome or take control from our creator, God. God has promised to care for all those who trust in him.

In Isaiah 40: 28-31, we read,

Have you not know? Have you not heard?
         The LORD is the everlasting God,
the creator of the ends of the earth.
         He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
         He gives power to the faint
and to him who has no might he
          increases strength.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
         and young men will fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD will
         renew their strength;
they will mount up with wings like eagles;
         they will run and not be weary;
they will walk and not faint.