My Walk to School This Morning

In my seven or eight block walk to campus from where I usually park (I'm a cheapskate when it comes to feeding meters, plus the walking is good exercise) I usually have much to think about, quite honestly, I've grown accustomed to using that time to think and pray. This particular morn, the theme of the conversation was dreams. It probably had a lot to do with a few factors, conversations with friends as of late and the song I was listening to on my iPod as I walked (God often uses music to speak to my heart). The song this time happened to be "Name" by the Goo Goo Dolls:

And even though the moment passed me by
I still can't turn away
Cause all the dreams you never thought you'd lose
Got tossed along the way
And letters that you never meant to send
Get lost or thrown away

And now we're grown up orphans
That never knew their names
We don't belong to no one
That's a shame
But if you could hide beside me
Maybe for a while
And I won't tell no one your name

And I won't tell em your name

Scars are souvenirs you never lose
The past is never far
Did you lose yourself somewhere out there
Did you get to be a star
And don't it make you sad to know that life
Is more than who we are

You grew up way too fast
And now there's nothing to believe
And reruns all become our history
A tired song keeps playing on a tired radio
And I won't tell no one your name
And I won't tell em your name

I think about you all the time
But I don't need the same
It's lonely where you are come back down
And I won't tell em your name

There are a few lines from the song that really grabbed my heart:

And even though the moment passed me by
I still can't turn away
Cause all the dreams you never thought you'd lose
Got tossed along the way

-AND-

And don't it make you sad to know that life
Is more than who we are

Especially in light of conversations I’ve had the last few days and the last few months with some buddies of mine, I’ve been asking the question, “whatever happened to the dreams we had once?” their reply would usually be, “reality.” When did we stop living and accept what the world around us hands us? When did we go from living from our heart, living passionately, to living for the weekend and working for a two story piece of suburbia? It is sad to know that life is more than who we are, especially when Jesus promises us life to the max (John 10:10). Friends, that is the promise of the Gospels, life to the full. I think our society is one that has forgotten how to dream and dream big. In this age of efficiency we have forgotten what matters most: the heart, where life comes from (Proverbs 4:23). Honestly, do think that the idea of life we so commonly accept is what God had in mind when He created us? Admittedly, we do live in a fallen world, but the context of this promise is eternal life—eternal is never ending not in the future sometime, it is now. Anyways, think about that, I must go to hang out with my highschoolers.

~Josh