How then do I tap into these great desires? I dream. I fanaticize about great and beautiful futures. I let God dream in me, and I sit in silent awe and wonder as these holy dreams come to life before the eyes and ears of my soul.
I dream. I start with option A and allow God to show me the marvelous and holy possibilities that could result from that option. I think crazy thoughts and mull over preposterous proposals. I have galactic visions of new worlds of possibilities opening up merely because I say yes to God’s invitation to option A. I then start all over again and dream about option B, then about option C, and so on…
As I allow myself to dream crazy dreams, I then begin to ponder those dreams. As I daydream—or better, praydream—the possibilities of living out my great desires in each option, I try to note the difference in my heart as Ignatius did when comparing his dreams of chivalry with his dreams of religious life. I ask myself, Which of these dreams leave me dry and sad, despite my best efforts to create a dream of great possibility? In which dreams have I found pleasure that lingers, even long after the dream ends?
—Excerpted from God’s Voice Within by Mark E. Thibodeaux, SJ
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