Waiting for Something Big.

Yesterday’s sermon was poignant enough that I am still thinking about it, more than 24 hours later with even great depth. The main point to make one dream so big that one would spend one’s whole life waiting for it.

More importantly, that big dream had to come from God, which is from someone outside and greater than oneself. So profound I thought. What could be greater than having kids? And why wasn’t that big enough? Well, kids as a dream is easy, having kids that is. Raising someone else’s is another story.

So as the sermon went one, I began to think, what was bigger than wanting to have kids as a dream that would or could possibly take my entire life. I was baffled.

Then the pastor helped by asking us to consider things the we found disturbing in life. Aha! I had a few things. However, the first was the disappearing of West Africa, particularly Nigeria as an emerging nation.

Since independence from British colonial rule 45 years ago, the economic of Nigeria has gradually wound down. Despite the best of intentions and the human capital brimming in the land, corruption and oil have been the specters the have tormented young men from my fathers generation to me own.

Now the commitment to something so big, the pastor went on to explain, would require “dying to our lesser dreams.” There is only so much time and energy in this life to do it all. The big dreams, especially those beyond ourselves, which are those so big we cannot accomplish them on our own, require the dedication of time that is our lives.