“If you don’t imagine, nothing ever happens at all.” ~ Paper Towns
I have some friends in Colorado who are raising their child. Every day, I get an email from Tinybeans, a web service that allows parents to share photos with family and friends. I have been watching their son grow up over the years. He is in his twos right now. If you have children, you know what the twos are all about. Exploration is extremely important. Engaging with the world is very important. Imagining is something that happens on a regular basis each day.
When a child sets up for a tea party, or to bake a cake, or to drive a bus, everything that happens is “real” to that child. It doesn’t matter that the oven is a toy and that the food is plastic. The food is being cooked and consumed by those who have been invited to the party.
The child’s ability to imagine greatly predicts what the child will be and do in his or her future. A child that is frightened to imagine or who has his or her imaginings quashed — “That’s not real, honey. That’s just make believe.” — will end up as a frustrated adult who can never seem to accomplish anything in life.
“If you don’t imagine, nothing ever happens at all.” How very true. Imagining is at the very heart of who we are. The bolder, and more often, that we imagine, the richer our lives will be and the richer we might be able to make our world. Because the one who imagines boldly usually has the courage to see his or her imaginings through to completion.
At one time, there was no printing press. At one time, there were no phones. At one time, global communication was not even conceivable. But people dared to dream and had the courage to see their dreams through to completion. Our world is vastly different and richer because of that.
I have been safe for you thus far by keeping this dreaming stuff on an earthly plane. As Emeril would say, let’s kick it up a notch. Imagine what your lives would be if you stepped out in faith. Imagine what your lives would be if you ministered to the poor and needy. Imagine what your lives would be if you put God first at all times.
FAITH ACTION: Imagine what your spiritual life would be like if you trusted God more completely. Ask Him to give you the grace to increase your faith and trust in Him.