Can I Tell You Something, Girl with a Dream?

I see you there across the room.

Your hair is pulled back and your backpack is leaning haphazardly against the chair.

Your geometry book and graph paper scatter the table.

You smile at your teacher and lean in close. You’re listening, but your mind wanders.

You’re dreaming of your tomorrows.

Thinking of days you have yet to see and experience.

Your whole world extends before you like an open canvas.

I see you there across the room.

You’re covered in bananas and boogers, but I won’t laugh. I’ve been there.

I have spit up on my leg and a superman sticker on my back as I clatter words across my keyboard.

You’re reading your book, and I see you smile ever so slightly. You sip your coffee and breathe deeply.

Your mind wanders.

You’re dreaming of your tomorrows.

Thinking of days you have yet to see and experience – the days when babies wipe their own bottoms and when a shower in peace is a daily occurrence.

Your world tumbles before you like an open field after a hard rain.

I see you there across the room.

You smile at me, the woman with tears streaming down her face.

You understand.

You remember your dreams from years gone by.

You enter my thoughts as another tear hits the table.

You raise your white-handled mug, and I hear your heart speak to mine.

And here is what you say …

That dream in your heart?

You’ll grab hold of it one day.

The battles you endure to get there will be worth it.

I promise.

For I have dreamed.

I have lived.

I have reached.

And I have discovered something important. Something you need to hear.

Every battle-worn dream is worth it.

Can I tell you something, girl with a dream?

Lean in close…

Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.

I tilt my head toward the mom with boogers on her pants.

Her, too. She will endure to the end, too, if she doesn’t give up.

My eyes inquire – the teenager daydreaming?

Yep. Her, too.

Then your heart whispers to mine …

I know it’s hard. I’ve been there.

You’ll make it. I know you will.

I lean in one more time, drinking in your words, and you whisper …

You must believe you’ll make it too.

I watch as you gently place your mug back on the table and tuck your well-worn Bible into your bag.

You walk out the cafe door into the cold mountain air.

I watch as you pull your coat a little tighter around you.

You whisper a prayer –

A prayer of love and courage for all the dreamers who are in the trenches.

Your dream of meeting your Savior face-to-face draws ever nearer.

The tears flow as I bow my head.

Father, give me the strength to endure to the end. Don’t let me give up. I believe You’ll see me through.