Big Dreams

A few days ago I read THIS blog post and it stopped me in my tracks because THAT is exactly where I am.  I could have written those words, those words have been written in my head and heart over and over again the last several months.  Then, I was watching a replay of a Passion2013 session with Francis Chan and I was reminded of this video (I had the video embedded but it appears youtube is being feisty so I highly recommend watching it)

 It reminded me that I have been called to dream and not dream little human sized dreams.  But, instead I am to dream BIG God-sized dreams!  And then pursue those dreams with a heartfelt passion to bring glory to Him...So, what is my dream?  I'm going to take you through some of the events that led me to my God-sized dream before I share it all:

• Back in January 2009 (almost 4 years ago to the date) I received a diagnosis for some sudden health issues that came up- I was diagnosed with Medullary Sponge Kidney (MSK for short) which is a "rare" (that is becoming more common) kidney disorder that causes me to make kidney stones pretty much all the time.  Sometimes I feel them passing, sometimes I don't, and my prayer is that now they are so "light" that they are as nonexistent as possible. :)
• From that diagnosis came the charge from the doctor to eat a low oxalate diet.  I know he meant well, and the two big things I cut out were chocolate and peanut butter, but the info that he gave me was WAY outdated.
• As time went on, I passed two big stones by December 2010 and then twinges off and on for quite a while.
• More time passed and in March of 2012 I got some news that I needed to change my diet even more.  So, I made those changes (mainly cutting out some more foods specifically wheat and soy) and did a retest in late June.  Those results came back with GREAT news that all of my levels had evened out and that what I was doing was working.  In the meantime I had started my journey so I was seeing double the benefits and at the time the dream was triggered (and the Physicians assistant at the dr's office really got the idea in motion when she made a comment about wishing I could come in and talk to other patients about the importance of following the diet prescribed by the doctor)

So, where does that take me- to the fact that through this journey I have been more and more convicted of the lessons I am passing on to my students, my family and my friends.  So, in the midst of all of that I started pursuing what it would take to become a nutritionist/dietician/health coach.  What I found was that to do the first two I would have to quit my job and go back to school full time (not doable right now).  But the third one... well, that's doable.  I'm pursuing some options and the biggest thing is trying to figure out how to afford it.  I have the heart for it, the passion, the drive- now to trust that this God-sized dream will come to reality!