Fresh Start Devotionals

God’s Dreams I don’t necessarily buy into the whole power of positive thinking thing, but I am absolutely convinced of the power of negative thinking. Many people sabotage themselves and insure a less than ideal future by focusing on what they don’t think they can do instead of exploring new possibilities. Whether it is a desire to make a positive change in their life or make a difference in their world, positive thinking is a better alternative than negative thinking. Recently someone from the church forwarded me an email story that caught my attention. The writer told about an experience he had on the first day of a new semester in college. The professor introduced himself and asked the students to get to know someone they didn’t already know. A little old lady tapped him on the shoulder and greeted him “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” He laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you may!” After the embrace, he asked, “Why are you at college at such a young, innocent age?” She responded with a joke, but he persisted in knowing why she was there. Her response, “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” And graduate she did. The email said that she died in her sleep one week after her graduation and that over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to Rose, “the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.” I admire Rose for the guts it took to go back to school and the determination it took to graduate. She is an inspiration. I only regret that she didn’t live out her dream earlier in life. Take a minute to analyzed your self-talk. Are you sabotaging yourself? Or are you accomplishing your dreams? More importantly, are you accomplishing God’s dreams? Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).