John Albert Thomas Solo Piano

How To Let Dreams Die Gracefully

Men dream about their future; God plans it for them.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

The LORD will work out his plans for my life–for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me. ~ Psalm 138:8 (NLT)

A child’s mind whirls with imagination even before they are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” 

Mine was quite active with dreams of writing a book, releasing a music album, running an orphanage with a boys choir, and so much more.  Some dreams I fulfilled, and others may remain dreams.

Over the years my dreams became more ambitious.  Not only did I want to release an album, I wanted to be a full-time musician.  On one occasion during early marriage, both young and foolish, I attempted this for a month before funds ran out and my previous employer graciously took me back.

Ten years later, armed with enough reserves to last six months, I ventured again to make it work.  That six months was an incredible, educational experience for me and my family.  In my need to make it work, I generated all kinds of ideas for marketing music.  I ended this experiment with the release of my third solo piano album, Zuzu’s Petals, which consumed the last of our savings.

So what happens when you realize your dream may die?

Clearly, my marketing had not yielded sustainable results.  I abhored the thought of letting my dream die.  I was convinced that this was God’s purpose for me.  I was convinced that He would provide for my family if I just stayed the course.

My definition of faith was staying the course and trusting God to provide.  Becky’s definition was going back to computer work (that God had always blessed financially) and trusting God to grow the musical seeds I had planted.  Coming to an understanding of these differences was, at the least, strenuous.

Through the counsel of others and the many patient appeals of Becky, I reluctantly agreed to go back to corporate life.  Dazed and confused, I felt the dream die deep inside me.  I surrendered my ambitions to God and trusted that He could do something with the mess I made, in His own time and His own way.

As the months went by, this proved to be the best decision for our family.  God gave me a contract job with so much overtime that we had just enough money to pay our property taxes on time and keep our bank account open.  That incredible orchestration of circumstances deepened our faith in the living God who is very real and very involved in the details of our lives.

When my contract ran out, there was not enough work to hire me as a full-time employee.  My job search proved fruitless.  With no income, we turned to God and asked for His provision.  A week later, as the result of a miscommunication, I showed up at my contract employer’s office the same day one of their senior web developers announced his resignation.  I was hired the next day.

What happened to my dreams of a music career during this time? 

Well, earlier this year I was informed that two of my new piano works were accepted for Whisperings Solo Piano Radio.  Not only was my music playing on mainstream internet radio around the world, I now had access to the entire community of Whisperings solo piano composers.  What a creative, passionate group of people who love their craft and work together to promote each other!

That brings us to the present.  Two weeks ago I was asked to do a joint concert at a Memphis-based music store with two well-known Whisperings artists.  While the details of this concert are forthcoming, I will say that the concert will take place exactly one year after I witnessed my first Whisperings solo piano concert at The Sound Kitchen in Franklin, TN, just outside of Nashville.

Friends, this wasn’t even on my radar last year.  Honestly, I can’t take credit for this.  There’s no room for boasting.  While I wasn’t looking, God watered the seeds I planted last year, in His own time and His own way.

Remember when I let my dream die?  Before that, my fist was clenched around it.  I did all the work and got all the credit.  I had to open my hand and let God take it from me.  I had to trust Him in a way that I never before imagined.

So, how do you let a dream die gracefully? 

1. Place your trust in the living God to do all that He has planned for you. 
2. Trust that His plans for you are far better than your own. 
3. Trust that He remains good, wise, and able to act on your behalf, even when you let go.

So, what’s your story? 

• Are you clinging to a dream that God is not blessing? 
• What might happen if you let go of it and trust Him with the results?

Stay tuned for Part 2:  How To Lose Your Dream House Gracefully

A Day Of Boasting

(Don’t worry! It’s not what you think.)

I do not wish to forget yesterday, so I am setting aside Oct. 21 as a personal holiday for me. It shall be called “A Day of Boasting”. It is the day that my life’s goal changed.

For the past few years the main goal of my life was to obey God’s calling to inspire and encourage people through musical and literary creativity. As long as He gives me strength and ability, I will continue to do that.

However, I discovered a higher calling yesterday, a preeminent goal. It is, in fact, a calling that God places on each of us. It is a calling worth boasting about.

God told Jeremiah, a prophet from the tribe of Benjamin during King’s Josiah’s reign in Judah, these words:

This is what the Lord says:
“Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,
or the powerful boast in their power,
or the rich boast in their riches.
But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord
who demonstrates unfailing love
and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things.
I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 9:23-24, NLT)

What is God’s single greatest desire for each of us? To know Him. What is the one thing that He doesn’t mind us boasting about? That we know Him. More than smarts. More than strength. More than wealth. Knowing Him is His goal for our lives.

Some of us get very excited when we meet our favorite athletic, political or artistic celebrity. Our first inclination is to boast about meeting them.  The more interaction we have with them, the more we feel the need to boast. But knowing them pales in comparison with knowing God, Creator of the universe, designer of all living and non-living things.

How do we get to know Him? Well, how do we get to know our friends? We ask them to inform us about themselves. As they open up to us, we learn about them, and we reciprocate the openness. The more we like about each other, the closer we feel. Eventually we draw so close that we call each other “best friends”. Our hearts are wide open because we have learned to trust each other with complete acceptance.

The same is true with God. We don’t decide who God is or what He is like. That would be idolatry–the god of our imagination. Would it not be insulting and naive to walk up to a stranger and tell them we have determined the kind of person they are? The fact is that we only truly know someone to the extent that they have revealed themselves to us. They inform us and we respond.  God informs us and we respond.

How does God reveal Himself to us? Because God wants us to know Him, He chose reliable folks like Jeremiah to write down His words and record His actions in the lives of ordinary people.  What we are left with is an extraordinary history that tells us who God is and what He is like, the Bible.  And, as we read His thoughts, words and deeds, we ask Him in prayer to reveal Himself to us.

Knowing about Him is not enough.  The more we know about Him, the more we find Him trustworthy.  The more we trust Him, the more He reveals to us in Divine Friendship.  He informs us as we prayerfully read through the Bible as humble students, ready to learn, ready to trust, ready to obey.

Why am I setting aside October 21 as A Day of Boasting?  To remind myself that there is only one thing worth boasting about.  Let me never forget that my music, my intellect, my strength, and my wealth will all pass away.  To know God now is the ultimate goal, the highest privilege, and the greatest honor that He has granted to mankind, and it is only a taste of eternal, face-to-face glory.

For more information on the subject of knowing God, I recommend this book:

Knowing God: 20th Anniversary Edition By J.I. Packer / Inter-varsity Press J. I. Packer’s Knowing God has become a classic of the Christian faith. Why? While it gives us information about God with clarity and grace, it does much more—it aids us in actually knowing him, in building our relationship with him, and helps draw us closer to him in love and worship. This 20th anniversary edition of Packer’s classic has new Americanized text, reader-friendly type, and a new preface. Study guide not included.