Broken Dreams

Traveling across our state, Kerala, we see many eye-catching sights along the way. One of the most daunting sites is the many unfinished foundations. Obviously someone had set out to build their dream house, but couldn’t finish. Now, it has all sorts of things growing, including grass, shrubs, and some have small trees growing too.

Through the growth, you can see the foundation and the layout that was planned for the house. Someone had a dream. Money was spent to purchase the land, family members gathered to draw up a plan: The living room here, bedrooms on this side, kitchen and dining area next to each other, etc. Each family member had an idea to contribute, and their ideas converged to form the final plan.

But something went wrong. Certainly it was unexpected, but the unexpected often seems to come when there are big risks involved. Unexpected situations have a drastic effect on our focus. We begin the task with lots of planning and determination, only to back off with fear and give up all our hopes. The Psalmist faced a similar situation when he said: “The seas have lifted up, O Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea – the Lord on high is mighty” (Psalm 93:3-4). The all-consuming, overpowering waves represented his unexpected situations which have a severe debilitating effect on our lives. But the Psalmist realized that the Lord, who is mighty, is mightier than the waves. Consider the reality: the waves are mighty, but our Lord is mightier. Your broken dreams may seem to consume you, but our God is mightier than your brokenness.