More than a Dream

Our elementary poem says row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream.

There is no doubt that life is a series of films put together in the dark room of our minds to form an album of dreams which is translated into reality of physical pictures (achievements) which we can hold, talk about and share with others.

A man once gave one of the greatest speeches of modern times, he titled it “I have a dream, just incase you miss it, he didn’t say “I have two dreams” no he said “I have a dream”. Ladies and gentlemen, all you need in this world is just a “dream” not two but one. I want you to have and believe in dream but life is much more than just a dream, it is a world of possibilities where-by anything can be achieved, but first you must have a dream so as to get to reality.

Our past is a questionnaire into the present, but it is not our guide, stop leaving in the past, the past does not see the future, it only sees the mistakes it should have corrected while it was still in the present, which it may not be able to correct in today’s reality called present. The worst thing a person can do is to base life on the past events whether good or bad. For instance, if a love relationship did not work, so be it, cry over it, beat yourself about it for a while and after that dust yourself up continually, you just cannot stop. Humans pass judgement based on past events, life’s judgement is not by the past, but by present actions. The more you dwell in past mistakes, it just robs you of today’s success and peace of mind, there-by stealing you future, for the future is a collection of present tenses. We all know tomorrow never comes.

There is no doubt that we sometimes get beaten down by life, but we cannot stay in that state for the rest of our life, we have to deliberately and consciously move ahead. The only thing constant in life is change not “regret”

There is nothing you and I can do about mistakes. Do you know that the greatest people who ever lived on earth made mistakes, including the meekest man that ever lived “MOSES”. Mistakes are part of being successful, the more mistakes you make the more likely your chances of getting it right. Without the desire to get it right, you would not be making mistakes, mistakes establish one thing, that you are a step away to accomplishing your desired result. If you must live as a champion, you must keep a healthy mind of possibilities, because our minds are nothing but cable box carrying negative and can look into mirror of life and see that we are “ugly, unfit, fearful, deprived, unloved and lonely” all at once. Our minds tell us even God doesn’t care about us, how then should anybody “care?” It’s so funny how our minds work, but I tell you friend, the mirror of life is always wrong. Look at life from the original mirror, in this mirror is hope for a better tomorrow, written on this mirror is you being loved above all creatures, it is always written clearly that you are more than a conqueror, beautiful and wonderfully made. The mirror also says you have not been given the spirit of fear but of boldness, love and self control, it is written on this mirror that you are not deprived but accepted. The mirror says God stand at the door of our hearts with arms open wide ready to receive you the way you are, if only you call on Him.

For God so love you that He sent his only son to die a shameful death to be able to give you a future in this world and in the word to come. On the mirror called the Holy Bible is written, you are not lonely, for he Jesus said “I am here”. I am the friend that sticketh closer than a brother and He gave the greatest assurance, “for I will never leave you nor forsake you, lo, l am with you always even till the end of times.

Friends, the decision is yours, you can pick which mirror you feel you shall base your life upon, every morning you get out of bed, you can decide to fail or succeed.

Let me ask you a question! What did you think was running through the mind of Dr Martin Luther King when he wrote and said “I have a dream” Let’s go into history for a minute, at that time the African, Americans who were children of former slaves were being discriminated against at every area of life.

They were told by their slave masters from generation that they were not fit to be humans, accusing them of being lazy, sloppy and having lives not worth more than that of flies. They were stripped of legal and civic rights, there was no education for their minds, no food for their hungry stomach, no shoes for their soared feet, no clothes for their naked bodies, no shelter for their tired and battered bodies, the worst of all, they were stripped of their God given rights to think and act freely. Generations after generations of them grew to believe and saw themselves as not good. Dr King could choose to see all the odds against him and his people or he could see the “dream” of a whole new world of possibility. I admire Dr King, he stood before thousands of people who had come to hear him speak a word of hope at the steps of Lincoln.

At the memorial in Washington, DC, August 28, 1963, he spoke the words that will forever shape the minds of millions of people all over the world irrespective of their race or religious background. “I have a dream” said Dr. King, he saw possibilities in the present difficulties. There was no doubt in his mind that someday they will produce a black president and that happened forty-five years after the speech, in the person of Barrack Obama, the 44th President of United States of America.

Let me show you that he knew and believe that one day they will be free to hold any position of their choice. In “I have a dream” speech, he said, I quote “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character”.

He then ended the speech by saying “Free at last! Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty we are free at last”!

There is no doubt he saw the big picture, the question is, do you see the big picture in your circumstances or you see defeat?

Dr King stood in the gap for his people, why don’t you stand in the gap for your future and dream? If Dr King can, you can also, stop looking at your problems but look out for the possibilities. As we march on with the prophetic declaration of Papa Ayo Oritsejafor who said that this year 2011, is a year of possibilities, let’s take fear off our minds and see the big picture of life which is more than a dream.

I believe that together as a team, as we look at life from the big picture, we will achieve our dreams.

This write up is dedicated to Josephine Oweghoro, a true leader indeed, we the morning session of International School of Ministry (ISOM) are proud of you, you have truly shown us that life is more than a dream.

Wise Quotes

I have a dream – Dr King

2011 a year of possibility – Papa Ayo Oritsejafor

The past never sees the future – Jesse Duplatis

A man is dead officially when he stops breathing, but a man without a dream is dead before his official date – Emibiojo Okoka

The only thing worst than not achieving a dream is a life that never had a dream – Emibiojo-Okoka

Followers of life applaud history, but only men of dream make history – Emibiojo Okoka