Up in the Woods Part 1: For Dreamers

A few weeks ago, my family and I left our five-acre hobby farm to spend a few days in the mountains. Our temporary home was in North Carolina. I had my own room with a huge bed, and at night it was so dark I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face (I tried). When you step away from your life, when you jump out of the stream and sit on the bank for a moment, there is a clearing of the mind that is refreshing and inspiring. For me, this phenomena was nurtured even more by my reading choice for the week—a copy of Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau. When I opened the book, my dad looked over my shoulder and said, “That book will mess with your mind.” He added, “in a good way, that is." And it did. I got out my leather journal and a pen and began to write. These are a few of my mountain musings.

 

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 As I sit in a rocking chair on the front porch of a cabin hidden from society in the North Carolinian mountains, my mind is turning over new visions for my future. A few chapters of Walden by Henry David Thoreau and a light, mountain breeze kissing my cheek are enough to awaken the dreamer in me that had turned to stone—a stone etched with plans of society and this culture, rigidly marked in my generation’s Facebook statuses and Pinterest boards. It seems like everyone has the same vision, and so it is not an individual’s ideal but the ideal that the media has portrayed and made acceptable for us. Wouldn’t it be wonderful—revolutionary—if we all had our own dream?

My dream changes every day. I give myself time and space and atmosphere to contemplate it, tweak it, and play it back and forth in my mind. In my “plans", I leave myself open to God’s will. I pray that God would give me grace to desire what he desires, and not just for my life—His desires go beyond my meager existence. .

 

My dreams for my future go from broad to specific, but even the specific can change directions. An answer to prayer, a conversation, a closed door, a verse in scripture can change my course. The push-pin on my atlas can shift with a touch of God’s hands. Whatever I do, wherever I go, God is my destination and my ultimate desire. If that is my pursuit in life, then I know I can be content in all circumstances, because God grants me that desire every day.

And so the dreams I have laid out are not fixed. They are the mountain musings of today that may descend as I traverse to level ground in the morning. But ultimately what I desire is to love God and enjoy Him forever, to follow where He leads, to admire His creation, to love His people, to grow in wisdom, and to live simply and humbly on this earth.

 

This desire is the Christian desire, and it is one that many people share. My dreams for how I do this are unique. John Wesley said, "Love God and do whatever you want." If you love God--I mean truly love God with all your heart--then your desires will be His desires. Then what God wants will be what you want. I'll keep my dreams to myself for now, because I hope everyone can have their own. Sometimes it takes getting away from the world to realize what it is you really want.

 

-Emily