Are you a dreamer?

I am a children's church teacher and one of my favorite lessons that I taught my pupil's about is the story of Joseph and how his brothers sold him into slavery because they were jealous of him. I had an epiphany as I taught the children about this future leader (He went from a slave to a ruler in Egypt): One of the biggest reasons that Joseph's brothers hated him was because he was a dreamer--most dreamers endure harsh persecution (e.g. Dr. King) and deal with alot of jealous and/or envious people.

I have always been a dreamer. Focusing on, and creating a vision for my future is what kept me striving toward my goals despite the many turbulent times that I faced as I pursued them. As a teen and younger woman, upon initially meeting someone (especially in a business or collegiate setting), I would talk about my goals to strike up a conversation. Truth be told, being from my background and experiences, I guess I felt I had something to prove. But at some point, I started accomplishing alot of my goals; and they evolved into a vision-- Before, where people would patronize me when I shared my goals with them, they now [when they hear my vision] either believe that what I am sharing with them are just grandiose, lofty "dreams", or they recognize my potential, ability, and ambition and then I am subject to the persecution (e.g. jealousy, deceit, envy, hatred) that dreamers face. (It's funny how when at the time I was being patronized, I didn't recognize it until my goals became a vision.) But I can't help it; my vision continues to broaden on a regular basis.

It takes a fearless and tenacious person to actually pursue their dreams: To put those dreams into action-- that's when a dream becomes a vision. I haven't heard the story of one innovator, one entrepreneur, one inventor, who didn't struggle to make their dreams a reality and motivate the manifestation of his or her vision.

I recently read this book entitled, "Spirit Driven Success". In this book, the author talks about the same story of Joseph and how he provokes his brothers by telling them the dreams that he had, which symbolized them serving him (if you are interested in reading this biblical story it can be found in Genesis 37). She goes on to quote another spiritual truth in relation to this story: She implies that when a dreamer or visionary shares that vision with people they know hate them, or are jealous/envious of them, they are casting their pearls before swine. Respectively, she advises dreamers or visionaries to avoid "casting their pearls before swine" (Matthew 7:6). So that's why some people hate on you when you share your vision with them? Alot of people regulary claim that they are blessed, and it truly is a blessing to be a visionary who has the ambition and courage to pursue their vision, but to be blessed is to be envied. I guess that's where the saying, "Can you stand to be blessed?", was derived.

Until my next blog,

Lillian S. Harris, The Elect One

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." ~Albert Einstein