“…where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

“Set your hearts on things above…” (Colossians 3:2).

Jan and I sat in the café musing about what our dream homes would look like and where they would be. We were currently living in a country not of our birth, in houses certainly more than adequate but not truly of our own choosing. We led busy lives and on this particular day were probably more than a little weary.

Jan—not adept at or fond of cooking—described her future kitchen: “About the size of a closet with only an efficient microwave and very small refrigerator!” We agreed that our preferred site would be on the eastern United States seacoast in weather beaten cottages with white fences around the yards.

Many years have gone by. Jan lives in a quaint, small home but it is on the outskirts of a major metropolitan area. I live in a condominium in a suburban setting thousands of miles from the sea.

Have our dreams gone unfulfilled? Were our musings wasted time? Both Jan and I have moved into lives that have many challenges but are satisfying. (She still doesn’t cook much but owns a full-sized kitchen!) Our longings for the sea are partially indulged by an occasional holiday visit.

It is not wrong to keep a notebook of fabric swatches for the furniture of our dreams. House plans, garden layouts, paint chips of favorite colors are good memory joggers. But when dreams of the future supplant following hard after God’s plans for today, we can easily be diverted from His best for us.

Father, it is so easy to lose my focus on Your grand plans. Keep me ever vigilant to hear Your heart…then my own desires will fit perfectly into Your own. Amen

Questions: Think back on a dream you had for your future. As you committed your dreams to God, how did He fulfill your desires?

About the Author Marilyn Ehle

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Fresh Heart, Fresh Start, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog