Our classroom-turned-art-studio was hot today; the room was a muggy sauna kind of hot. The the sun seemed like it was having an epic battle with our too-small-for-the-room air conditioning unit. The air-con unit put up an admirable fight, but our studio is just too big. The air con couldn’t help it that we were sweaty and hot despite only sitting behind our computers or in front of our canvases. Every Monday I grade art student assignments. The students have to do sketches and daily bible studies which include opportunities to be personal and reflective.
This week I was inspired by one student’s observations about dreams. Not the kind of dreams you have in the night, rather the dreams we have for our lives.
Think about what happens between the time when a dream is first realized and finally achieving that dream. We all know that process can be a long road. That part in-between is the journey and I’m frequently reminded that I cannot sacrifice the joy in the journey for the achievement of the destination. On the journey we inevitably come up against unforeseeable circumstances, and what happens when the unexpected happens? What changes when we fall in love? Or when a loved one dies? Or we discover hidden passions and new talents?
Things, circumstances, and people change; people are not static. I crave the stability I think comes with things not changing while knowing I could very well get bored. All I know is that I’m learning how to embrace transition and uncertainty and it IS a challenge. I don’t always do a great job at this. And the other thing I know is that the one constant I have, apart from God, is change.
So, this wee my student wrote about dreams and that sometimes dreams change. Sometimes dreams die. And just as we have new dreams at night while we sleep, its okay to dream another new and different dream.
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| Rebekka and Roy in our classroom-turned-studio |