Does the dream end or begin with Tea?

Psalm 37:3-7a  New International Version (NIV)

³ Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

As I grew up I knew I thought I would be a missionary overseas.  I felt a calling to mission work of some sort at age eight at Beulah Beach Camp in Vermilion Ohio. I went to college and wanted to major in Missions and work overseas in a missionary school. To date moving overseas has not happened for me yet. 

In Jr High or High School I started joking that I wanted to have a tea shop and sell antiques.  My mom and I would make the tea and sandwiches, and my dad would buy the antiques.   To date that has not happened yet either. 

 I also always dreamt of being a wife and mother since I was probably seven or eight, to date that has not happened either. 

 Am I mad at God that these 3 dreams have not come true?  Absolutely NOT!!!  God has blessed me with so very many things in my life. (Great family, job,  house, friends, etc.)

I remember in 1998 I heard a sermon from Howard Bowers at the Wooster C&MA Church.  I liked what he had to say so much that I made notes in my Bible.

I learned that night that I have desires and those desires are okay, they are natural.  HOWEVER, I need to be sure that my desires are His desires.  And if my desires are not His desires I need to change my desires so that they match what He has for me.  In 1998 I wrote my desires in the side of my Bible:

1. To be a wife

2. To be a mother

3. To have a business where I can use my talents

4. Work with a youth group

5. Do mission work

Right now I can say that God has taken away the desire to be a wife and mother.  I am content single. I am being used being single.  So numbers one and two are no longer desires of mine.

  I am working as a Sunday School teacher and for teen girls- so I am fulfilling that desire.

I went on a mission trip in 2006, I am the missions chair at church, and I am always open to be used by God at any moment to share the gospel- so I am fulfilling that desire. 

But, then there is my own business desire. I still have that desire, it has not been taken away or quenched.  If anything that desire is more active than ever in the last three years.  I am praying that God will bring a tea related business to me.  I passionately want to run my own tea shop.  I will continue to pray and go through doors until the doors are shut or God takes away the desire.

I learned in my 41 years on this earth, that God's way is the only way for me. Why would I want something in my life that God says I don't need, or He does not believe is good for me.  God loves me, He created me, and He knows what is best for me.  If He takes away the desire to have a tea business, like He took away the desire to be a wife and mom, then I will continue to praise and bless His name and see what He has in store for me next!

Remember to pray believing.    Pray for your desires to match His desires....and if they don't match- get new desires :)