Field of dreams

Tolstoy Plowing, 1887, Ilya Yefimovitch Repin

“You won’t plow a field by turning it over in your mind.”
This from a friend as we were talking tonight about knowing where we are supposed to be, what we are supposed to be doing in and with our lives, what God-dreams we are to be living out.
A very wise man said it to her, once, a long time ago; and, having not forgotten it, she whipped this gem out during our conversation.
We were talking, in essence, about being who we were intended to be, and doing what we were intended by God to do.
Some people struggle with these questions.
Some people know the answers to them beyond a shadow of doubt.
It's so different for everyone.
But one thing remains true for us all.
Our field of dreams will not plow itself.
Our purpose will not just materialize out of thin air . . . someday.
We cannot rely on our past efforts to pave the way for our future successes, and we cannot expect the future to drop our dreams in our laps.
In order to make a reality of what lives in our mind’s eye and what is our heart’s desire, we have to pray and plan and prepare.
We have to move and make.
We have to ask, seek and knock.
It actually makes me think of that movie, Field of Dreams.
We've all seen it, right?
Basically, it’s about a man who had a dream.
He had a destiny.
He could see it so clearly, even when others could not; even when those closest to him could not.
But seeing it did not make it real.
Talking about it did not make it real.
Thinking about it did not make it real.
He had to “build it” before he could live in the dream; before he could share the dream with others.
You know, “If you build it, they will come.”
Though I think what the dream looks like may change several times in the course of a life, I do believe the dream will remain the same in its essence.
It is a reflection of who you are.
It is a reflection of who He is.
And I know that fields do not plow themselves.
What is my field?
What am I doing to plow it?
My dreams have to do with my family (being the parent and wife I am called to be), Christian education (building schools, starting schools, connecting with other Classical Christian Schools around the world, equipping young people with excellence so they can do excellent things with their dreams), extending the kingdom of God through the arts, writing the Great American Novel . . . the list goes on.
I am reading, studying, talking to people who are way smarter than I am, researching, furthering my education, and trying to apply everything I am learning, both at home and in my classroom.
Could I be plowing more?
Always!
What is your field?
How are you plowing it?