I too have a dream. And so should you.
Doctor King wasn't the first one to say it.
He heard it from a young woman named Prathia Hall, who used "I have a dream" several times in the opening prayer of a service commemorating a church that had been burned down by the KKK. Preachers often borrow from each other (just like writers, I should mention), and Doctor King borrowed it from her.
I didn't know that before yesterday. I heard it from the Rev. Traci Blackmon, who was our guest preacher for Martin Luther King Sunday. This is our second MLK Sunday with our new Rector, and I've got to say he brings in some pretty amazing guests. Last year's had a profound effect on me, too.
(Yes, you can see me in the background. My seat in the choir always puts me in the sight-line of the live stream camera.)
Rev. Blackmon's sermon was titled, "Where are the Dreamers?" and she pointed out that "Prophetic resistance is only possible for those who can still dream." It's not enough just for us to admire Martin Luther King's dream. We need to have our own dreams too. They help us figure out the parts we have to play within the bigger picture.
I have a confession to make - I've been something of a whiny writer over the last week or so. Writing a first draft is always hard for me, and when I'm sitting there trying to bash the words out, I'm always tempted to think I'd be having a much better time writing something else. It only builds from there, as I think I'd be more successful writing something else, or that life would be so great if I could do this or that project. Whether or not that's actually true is something I've never found out, because if I do give into temptation and jump to another project, sooner or later that project hits a tough patch and I'm tempted to move on to another different project, thinking "Surely this time will be different." I've learned this about myself over the years.
So Traci Blackmon's sermons on Sunday (she preached different ones at the two services I sang in) were just what I needed to get myself back on track. They were the reminder I needed of the dream that tells me what role I want to have with my writing in these times. I've said it before, but clearly I need to keep reminding myself.
One day, the coming generations are going to fix this mess that we're leaving them. I want to be one of the people who gives them the tools they'll need to do it.
Have you found your dream yet? It's never too late. If you haven't thought about it yet, now's the time to start. And if you have thought about it, maybe you need a reminder. I'm glad I got mine.
He heard it from a young woman named Prathia Hall, who used "I have a dream" several times in the opening prayer of a service commemorating a church that had been burned down by the KKK. Preachers often borrow from each other (just like writers, I should mention), and Doctor King borrowed it from her.
I didn't know that before yesterday. I heard it from the Rev. Traci Blackmon, who was our guest preacher for Martin Luther King Sunday. This is our second MLK Sunday with our new Rector, and I've got to say he brings in some pretty amazing guests. Last year's had a profound effect on me, too.
(Yes, you can see me in the background. My seat in the choir always puts me in the sight-line of the live stream camera.)
Rev. Blackmon's sermon was titled, "Where are the Dreamers?" and she pointed out that "Prophetic resistance is only possible for those who can still dream." It's not enough just for us to admire Martin Luther King's dream. We need to have our own dreams too. They help us figure out the parts we have to play within the bigger picture.
I have a confession to make - I've been something of a whiny writer over the last week or so. Writing a first draft is always hard for me, and when I'm sitting there trying to bash the words out, I'm always tempted to think I'd be having a much better time writing something else. It only builds from there, as I think I'd be more successful writing something else, or that life would be so great if I could do this or that project. Whether or not that's actually true is something I've never found out, because if I do give into temptation and jump to another project, sooner or later that project hits a tough patch and I'm tempted to move on to another different project, thinking "Surely this time will be different." I've learned this about myself over the years.
So Traci Blackmon's sermons on Sunday (she preached different ones at the two services I sang in) were just what I needed to get myself back on track. They were the reminder I needed of the dream that tells me what role I want to have with my writing in these times. I've said it before, but clearly I need to keep reminding myself.
One day, the coming generations are going to fix this mess that we're leaving them. I want to be one of the people who gives them the tools they'll need to do it.
Have you found your dream yet? It's never too late. If you haven't thought about it yet, now's the time to start. And if you have thought about it, maybe you need a reminder. I'm glad I got mine.
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