The Power to Change.

I had the weirdest dreams last night. And they almost kept me from getting up and heading to CrossFit.

When my alarm went off, I was reeling and trying to sort things out. I was also scared that there might be wall-balls in the workout and was seriously dreading the idea. I lay there wondering how badly I really needed to go. During our weeks with CC I haven't been going to CrossFit on Wednesdays because the schedule just makes it too difficult (read: I'm unwilling to go at the hours available to me those days), so while CC is not in session I have been trying really hard to go three times per week. However, with holidays, visitors, and a few late nights, I only made it happen just last week.

The thought of only having one more week to hit the gym three times guaranteed (maybe for six weeks) was the final thought that pulled me out of bed.

My workout was great. I was sweating buckets, had beat my previous time, and got to thinking about everything on the way home.

In my dream, there was this man who was bossing everyone around, but not just in an annoying or frustrating way. He was manipulative, deceiving, and ruining lives by keeping people stuck in the weird vortex/dream-land we were all in. He was testing me and challenged me to see if I could change the glass of milk he was about to drop and pour out. At the very last moment, I was able to change the glass of milk into a glass of water, and then it disappeared.

After that, a couple other totally random and weird things happened, and the woman I was with realized that I had the power to stop things, to change things. We ran around trying to stop what we needed in order to get people out of the vortex, which included a black and white dog getting bathed, another dog just hanging out, and creating a hole in a random room.

No, it did not make a lot of sense.

But, when I thought about the power it was holding over me, about the weight it was when I first woke up, about the idea about having the power to change things, and the ability to stop things, it all began to make a lot more sense.

Don't we often let external circumstances control us? Don't you ever have something happen to you and then make a bunch of bad decisions afterwards because it all just felt too hard?

This is what I almost did this morning. I almost let a bad feeling from a dream keep me from making the progress I want to make. And I wonder how often all of us do this. I know many of my decisions about what I am going to work on or work towards are based on how I am feeling in the moment.

But to change lives and change our world, we have to change the way we make decisions.

Decisions need to be based on more than just how difficult or challenging a situation feels.

Decisions shouldn't be based on what we think the outcome might be (i.e. make me too tired, cost me too much, not work out exactly as planned).

Decisions ought to be made with a clear knowledge of the advantages, a knowledge of right and wrong, and a clear understanding of where we want to go.

I was amazed at how little it took this morning to almost keep me in bed. How much am I missing out on because I don't think I have what it takes to make the progress I want to make? I'm so often intimidated by the difficulty of the path ahead, but that thought-process is holding me back.

Maybe you need the kick in the pants like I do. We all have the power to change. There's no guarantee that you will change anything other than yourself, but I do believe that we impact the people around us by simply existing near them, and any positive change in your life is sure to bleed into the lives of others. Don't bank on what that outcome will be, but trust that God will use it as blessing as you choose to honor Him with the fullness of your life.

I pray that you have the courage, desire, and vision to pursue the life God is calling you toward.