Delayed Dreams

Wanna Be Rock Stars



Long, long ago as financially strapped newlyweds, our dreams gave us hope for a future we couldn’t see. Our day job wasn’t what we wanted to “do with our lives”. It was just the means to pay our bills and buy music gear so we could “do what we really wanted to do”—which was to be famous musicians.




How easy it is to look ahead and forget to appreciate where we are.








While our music dreams would mean working together, making money at what we loved doing, we often overlooked that we were already working together and making money—even if it wasn’t writing and performing music.  

Could we appreciate what we had even if it meant never making it in the music world?












I gave up first. Playing music in a lounge wasn’t my idea of success. Writing catchy advertisement jingles seemed to cheapen it even more.  I won’t even discuss my brief stint as a DJ. My music dream wasn’t just delayed; it had died.

Music was more deeply rooted in my husband. I often heard the strum of his guitar late at night. He continued to write songs and record them for an audience that might never hear his songs. It meant that much to him.

Delayed dreams don’t mean denied dreams. God plants seeds of inspiration within each of us. Some sing, others dance. Some write, others act. Some teach, others learn. We all have dreams. But while God sometimes delays our dreams, he’ll never deny the ones he placed in our hearts. It’s all about his timing, not ours.






So even though I thought I killed my music dream by burying it, I merely placed soil around the seeds God planted. And guess what sprouted thirty years later? Music.

But this time it’s not about money, or career, or a convoluted sense of fame. It’s about the joy that music brings to my life. And that was probably the purpose God had in mind from the beginning.

Popular posts from this blog

Counting the Cost

Image
Something big is missing in this photo. Let me explain. Here in my hometown, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe prepared a parcel of land for a new hotel. Plenty of planning and architectural designs were evaluated. A gemstone of a hotel would be built across from the waterfront—a beautiful, restful place welcoming travelers. A true four-star facility.   They cleared the aging brick structures that had been fading away between Front Street and Railroad Avenue. Then the pandemic hit, shortages of labor and supplies, add in the costly inflation that followed. Everything stopped.   But this is what I admire about the Elwha Tribe: they have counted the cost. They didn’t want to move forward and take on tremendous debt. They would rather move slowly and be financially ready, rather than begin building and then letting it sit unfinished.   Counting the cost is something I should have done earlier in life when I didn’t know what high interest rates would do to our farming cost...
Read more

Summertime Music

Image
During the summer months, in an outside seating area, a delightfully painted piano sits with a sign that says, “Play me”.   It was just before 8 pm as I walked past the piano. My bus would be arriving soon, and I still have another ten minutes to walk before reaching my bus stop. But no one is around. It’s a beautiful warm evening. I pulled out the piano bench and sat down. The sun was behind me, and the piano keys reflected its glow. I had no music in front of me, only the songs within me. Notes drifted into the air.  In those brief moments, the magic of music and summer came together. Isn’t that how it is? Summertime music has a way of lingering in our minds and lasting a lifetime. As I stood and grabbed my things, I heard distant clapping—I guess I wasn’t alone, after all.
Read more

Planting Good Seeds

Image
Harvest will always depend on what we plant and how well we care for our crop.    Looking over my seed packets, I notice they’re different than the ones I planted before. One package is called Word seeds. The directions say that each of my words is a seed, so it cautions me to think before I speak. Harsh words don’t produce sweet, nourishing fruit. These seeds will require thoughtful care in the garden. I see some Volunteer seeds. Those extra hours I tend to fritter away are going to be planted in a useful project.   It looks like time isn’t wasted in this garden plot. Next are some Love seeds—the directions are interesting: get up each day and love others. No specifics are given—just do something for someone every day. The seed package shows pictures of smiling faces. I smile back. As I’m ready to head to the garden with my seeds, a package falls to the ground. I open it. Inside are the tiniest seeds I’ve ever seen—but the directions s...
Read more