Thus I learned one of the hard lessons of life: the best way to strip the allure and dreaminess from a lifelong dream is, very often, simply to have it come true.

David James Duncan, The Brothers K

Most of us have experienced it. We fully invested in a dream only to discover in its fulfillment, that is was much, much less than we imagined.

In The Brothers K, Kincaid Chance and his siblings longed for the resurrection of their father’s pro baseball career. They spent most of their childhoods pining for it, imagining, playacting its manifestation, certain it was the answer to their family’s idiosyncrasies and dysfunctions. Once it happened, they discovered the glory of the dream quickly wore off.

To avoid wasting years nurturing unsustainable dreams, ask God to put his dreams within you. The dreams and ambitions that arise from him come from a source that is infinite, and cause you to take action toward sustainable purposes.

Philippians 2:13. For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.