“If you had a dream and believed in yourself and a man came along with an offer that wasn’t at all what you planned for, would you sell out?” He asked me.

“It’s not a part of your dream?” I asked.

“Well, the success that might come from taking the chance would help me arrive at my goal, but I’d have to leave a lot behind to do it,” he replied.

“This dream of yours that you are speaking about. How deeply embedded in you, how much a part you is this dream?” I asked.

He stood motionless for a moment. Then raising his head looking up toward the sky he said, “It is in the air that fills my lungs. It is in the blood that keeps me alive. It is the reason for my heart beat and purpose for my life.”

That left me speechless. What a powerful testament to one’s dream.

“Then why would you even consider selling out?” I asked.

As he replied I could see the tears of a thousand long, hard days well up in the corner of his eyes.

“It’s time,” he replied. “It’s time for me to arrive. I’ve been on this journey for so very long and I’m tired. I need for the train to pull into the station and either see the sign that welcomes me home or simply a place to stop,” he said.

We looked away from each other for a moment. I wanted to give him time to recover from his thoughts.

“We took a long trip a few years ago. Kind of a cross country journey. Making several stops along the way, we shopped, visited with friends and wandered through places we’d never seen before. It was a dream of ours. Every place we stopped we found something to buy, a photo to take, or a person to meet so that we could one day sit in the comfort of our home and journey once again in our memory,” I said.

“That’s nice. But what does that have to do with anything?” He asked.

“I wonder what it would be like for us if we only traveled part way, gave away all that we collected and valued and returned home with nothing? Instead of reliving the joy of the journey, rejoicing in all we accomplished, we might find ourselves filled with regret and saddened by the fact that we gave up on our dreams. But this was just a trip. What you are talking about is much greater. There is a price to pay for dream you have, but a greater price for selling out,” I said.

“But it’s time!” He said in anger and frustration.

“That’s not for you to decide,” I said.

“Then who makes that decision?”

“The One who gave you the dream. The One who created you and the dream as one in the same. The One who made you aware of the value of your mission and the importance of purpose in your life. This dream is a single thread in the quilt of God’s love for us. Things like love, trust, friendship, commitment, honor, duty, and faith hold each portion of the quilt together. Your part, your pattern, is essential to the completion of the cover God places over mankind to protect us. As He has given you the dream, He has given you the choice. You can choose to quit, you can try to sell out, but another will be destined to pick up where you left off.”

We sat quietly.

“If you were telling me that your dream was to buy a boat, own a house in Beverly Hills, then I would know this was a worldly dream. But this dream you speak of cannot be sold off. It can only be given up for another to complete. Perhaps your journey was only to carry it that far. Then God will say “Rest.” But if the voice inside you cries, “Go on! Don’t stop now!” Then it isn’t time.

But when you finally arrive for all the right reasons and see your dream completed, it will be worth it all.”

“You promise?” He asked.

“No, He does!” I said.

“I believe in you!” Bob Perks Bob@BobPerks.com