Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Realizing A Dream




Today I'm writing a post for you that I never knew I'd get to write. I hoped that I would. I prayed that I would. I prayed hard that I would. But last Friday, after wrapping the first week of D: The Broadcast, I felt led to share my story and encourage you to believe in your dreams. 

I've wanted to be a television host since I was a little girl. I grew up imagining it. I would practice it in the mirror. I studied the people on local and national news who did it well. And when I finished up at school and moved to Los Angeles, I felt like I would get there soon. 

Was I wrong!

Dreams don't exist in a vacuum. Even though most people hold their dreams close and protect them, they are still part of life, and sometimes life does not cooperate. It can weigh you down. It can distract you. It can make dreams seem far away. And for me, as I was escaping from one marriage, entering into another and blending our families, and watching my hubby Emmitt build a second career for himself after football, my dreams didn't just seem far away. Sometimes, they seemed impossible. 

But God knows our dreams too, and He knows what he has planned for us. It might not make sense every minute of every day, but He has a way of pointing us in the right direction, of bringing us toward our true purpose. I sometimes lost sight of that, and I would forget to listen. But when I listened to God, when I cleared away all the distractions and outside voices and really found the time to hear Him, He would bring me a little bit closer.  

Today, this morning, I got there. It took a long time, a lot longer than I'd ever expected, but I got there. But last night, I had a thought about that. As I was thinking about how long it took for me to get to this moment, with butterflies in my stomach because I was thinking about the start of D: The Broadcast, I found that it really didn't matter how long it had taken me to accomplish my goal. There was a lot of frustration in those years. There was a lot of joy. There were good times and there were bad times. There were new things and there were challenges. But in the end, the number of hours, days, and years it took really didn't matter. That's what is so incredible and powerful about dreams! If someone had told me when I was back home in Virginia that it would take 20 years for my dreams to come true, I wouldn't have cared about the 20 years. The important thing is that I would get there! 
I never let go of my dreams. I kept hoping. I kept praying. I kept working. I kept going. And you should too.  

2 comments:

  1. Pat - this is GREAT! It's so hard to get quiet and listen to God...especially when you want something so badly. I know I struggle with this over and over!

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  2. Hello Pat,

    Your blog "Realizing the Dream" is very relatable. So many women encounter this feeling and feel as though they can’t get out to pursue their dreams, finish their goals and just make things happen for many reasons. But what a wonderful feeling it is, when you are able to step into your dream and live in your passion. Although, I have not seen the show I can relate to your blog. I have always loved helping and encouraging people. Over the years, while spending my time in a corporate setting, my time there still resulted back to helping someone. Throughout this time, I have had great ideas that remained bottled up due to 1)not having the funds to make things happen, 2)fear, 3)afraid of failure and that someone would take my idea after failing, and 4)just nervous...nervous about success.

    When I actually sat down and listened to God, things became clearer. It wasn't about how much money I had or who I knew. It was about God and having the faith that He would provide a way for my dreams to come true. I'm not a cliché person or one to throw out scriptures but while having lunch last week with a dear friend, I actually felt a clear understanding of "having the faith of a mustard seed". It was so clear. It was my real "aha" moment and gave me hope to keep believing.

    My organization mentors teen girls, has prom dress drives and workshops on etiquette and self esteem. Right now, I have pulled some great ladies together to help inspire, motivate and work together on making our dreams come true - a resource and empowerment team. My motto is “One woman can make a difference, but together we can ROCK the world!" It's amazing what a group of talented and gifted women can do together. The ultimate goal is to help our girls and build our community.

    Keep relying on God, living in your dreams and building a name for yourself. We have two things in common. I too am from Virginia (Richmond) and I am a Cowboys fan!!! :-)

    Much success to you <3.

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