"Care more than some think is wise;
Risk more than some think is safe;
Dream more than some think is practical;
Expect more than some think is possible,"
~ The Missionary Heart
Before we continue, let's get one think straight: I'm not this super awesome, special person. Just because I dare to believe that I can make a difference in this world, it doesn't mean that I am any different from you. I've heard a lot of times that "You are doing such a great thing! Keep it up! I know that you will make a difference." (Note* to those of you who have something similar to this, I don't mind at all - I'm just using it as an example. It is in no way a criticism of you or your comments - because I love them all and they do make my day!) I don't say the things that I do because I want you to tell me that I am doing a great job; I say them because I want to inspire you to have the same passion to go beyond modern expectations and beliefs. I want all of you to make a difference in your world. That is why I say these things.
Now that that is settled, let's continue. The quote above is one that I really, really like. Let's dissect it a bit (yes, I am one of those people who didn't mind biology): "Care more than some think is wise." When you care for anything, you are setting yourself up to possibly be hurt. It is a chance that you take. Some people are reserved, scarred from the pain of past hurts. It is logical to care so much that you could be hurt? Not at all. Our society has been structured in such a way as to place the mindset in each of us to avoid pain as much as possible. Caring always brings a risk, but it is a risk that must be taken. If that risk means that someone comes to know the love of Christ, then it is a risk worth taking. Jesus cared for the least, how can we say that we will not do the same? Here is a quote by C.S. Lewis that I simply adore:
"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable."
~ C.S. Lewis
"Risk more than some think is safe." There will always be someone who thinks that what you are doing isn't safe - and maybe it isn't. Before I went to Ethiopia, my Grandma strongly wished that I would not go (she eventually changed her mind); she didn't think that it was safe. In reality, what lasting change has ever been made without risk? It involves stepping from the known into the unknown (George Shinn). I've had many people tell me that the path that I am on isn't safe (the rescue and restoration of human trafficking victims). By the world's standards, it isn't. But that is a risk that I have to take, because I have been called to do this by Someone who is bigger than the risk involved.
"Dream more than some think is practical." I am a dreamer. I love to dream. I have lots of dreams - big dreams. Anyone who is a dreamer knows that many people consider them to be absolutely strange. Dreams allow us to be more than we currently are. They allow us to go places that we have never been. They inspire us to make a difference. Dreams aren't practical, but they are the fuel for making a difference in the world. As so many people have stated in the past, "It all started with a dream."
"Expect more than some think is possible." Oh boy, isn't this the epoch of life? Someone says that they can do something, another person replies that the other can't, and so they set out to prove the other wrong. One expects more than the other thinks is possible. The same is often true for you and me. Maybe you think that you won't do well on your test, but I think that you will because I believe in you. I am expecting more than you think is possible. The same is true all through life. People are going to tell you that you will fail. However, I dare to believe that success is achievable. Just because it has never been done before, doesn't mean that it can't be done. If people believed this then we wouldn't have many of the inventions that we have today. The inventions succeeded because their inventor expected more than other people, as so they were willing to try what was thought to be impossible or absurd. We can do the same.
So care a lot, live beyond the realm of modern safety boundaries, dream big, and expect the impossible. Because, you never know, it just might change the world.
Blessings,
Hannah
