Dreams Have to Have Roots

For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.

Ecclesiastes 5:7 (NASB95)

I dreamed and talked about hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) for decades, and for those decades that is all it was, a dream and words. I would read articles and books about the trail. I would look at the maps for sale. When the internet came on the scene, I would look at the pictures and read the journals of other hikers who had put roots to their dreams.

My dream was going nowhere, it was lifeless, as empty as my talk, a waste of valuable time that would have been better spent on actually glorifying God in some way.

Then in 2011 something changed that caused my dream to begin producing roots.  Instead of looking at pictures and reading about stories, I began researching what I would need to do to hike the AT. That led me to buying some new gear and maps. I started experimenting with food to eat on the trail. I figured out how I could get a ride back to my car at the end of my hike. I talked to some people who had some experience. I determined to hike the trail south rather than north and to section hike it, not thru hike it. I set a date, started training and in August of 2011, I found myself on Mount Katahdin in Maine, the northern terminus of the AT! My dream had roots now; it had become a living thing, a reality.  I was no longer wasting time.

The wind was blowing through MY hair this time! The early morning sun was on MY face now. My eyes were feasting on the ACTUAL VIEW rather than on a photograph!

I remember that day as if it was yesterday, and in October of 2019 my dream that took flight only 8 years earlier, came to fruition on the top of Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the AT.

There is nothing wrong with dreaming in and of itself. God has given us a mind that is capable of great imagination. Many wonderful things have been forged out of dreams. But spending large portions of our time just daydreaming, day after day, God says is not good. It is a waste of time, emptiness if we are not doing something to put roots on our dreams. ☹

If I added up all the daydreaming I did about the Appalachian Trail over those decades before I did something, the volume of time that I had wasted would be painfully obvious. When I decided I was going to do all I could to grow some roots under that dream, I was on the AT within a year.

There are root killers to every dream. Some concerning the AT dream are: insincerity (We are not really serious about hiking the AT, we just want what people provide us when they think we are.), fear (fear that we do not possess the ability, that we will fail, fear of the unpredictable, of the animals and snakes, of sleeping in the wilderness, of getting lost, etc.), sacrifice (getting in shape, saving funds, buying some good gear, spending some vacation time, loss of almost all conveniences, time apart from family), preparation (the food you will take, the food you will mail, gear you take, testing your gear, getting maps, mapping your water sources and camps, finding where you can resupply, wash your clothes, and rest, phone numbers for shuttles, etc.), pain (miles you hike, blisters you pop, bruises and cuts you bandage, sprained ankles and twisted knees you wrap, goose eggs you rub, bear attacks you… survive? [Sorry, I could not help it. You are more likely to get bit by a rattlesnake or copperhead than attacked by a bear, so do not sweat it. 😊]), plus so many other issues that can keep us from watering and fertilizing our dreams.

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived was led by the Holy Spirit to counsel us in Ecclesiastes 9:10, Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (in death) where you are going. (NASB95)

We are only given the precious gift of one life to live here on this earth. God does not want us to waste valuable time daydreaming it away. ALL that the gospel believer does is to bring glory to God. That means specific service to Him as well as living out our daily routines and even hobbies of life.

Eric Liddell once said, “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” In addition to calling me to ministry, God has given me a love for His wilderness. It is my goal to not waste any time in involving myself and enjoying myself to the full in these and all other areas of my life.

I could not begin to tell you how putting roots to my dream of hiking the AT has blessed and changed my life. The things God has shown me throughout His creation, sunrises and sunsets on top of His glorious mountains, the aromas of different places, conditions, and seasons, the AT^ers He has introduced me to and interacted with, the intimate times we have had together with no interruptions, as well as the arguments we have had, 😊 the ways I have been able to serve hikers and hostel owners, listening to the entire New Testament and other large portions of Scripture, accepting the challenge of whatever weather God led me into, experiencing His answers to SO MANY prayers, the multiple versions of the descants His brooks, rivers and waterfalls sang, the evening sounds of nature lulling me to sleep every night, the absolute silence of anything civilized for days at a time, the EXPLOSION of thunder and lightning at three to six thousand feet, wind strong enough to literally pick you up off your feet, pack and all, I have to stop or I will be filling pages.

The point is, look at all I would have missed in this life if I never put roots to my dream to hike the AT.  What a hole it would leave in me. What a loss of a precious jewel that God created for me to enjoy, and the loss of the joy it would have given Him to see me enjoy it.

Are there any holes you and I that are creating in our lives by just daydreaming? Are there any gems God has intended for us to enjoy that we are turning down?

Think of some specific service you believe God may be asking you to step out in faith and fulfill. Think as well, about how God has made you and how it would give Him pleasure to see you enjoying that side of your life too. When you think of one these for each area (or some other area), get a notebook for each one and a plant or a picture that represents your dream. Then get busy with that notebook watering and fertilizing your dreams, and bring them to fruition.