Let me share with you a story about how to create a vision of what you want even when circumstances tell you that you can’t. This story focuses on a smaller goal than a life vision, but it shows what is possible when you dare to dream by defining what you want in detail.
My old car was developing some bad problems. I could not turn on the ventilation system without breathing in exhaust fumes. That meant I had to drive in the winter with a blanket on, and in the summer, I had to have all my windows open and pray I didn’t get heatstroke. At this time in my life, I was trying to recover from chronic fatigue syndrome, so I did not have much money in the bank, let alone money to buy a car. Knowing my car was in bad
condition and my financial situation wasn’t good enough to get a better car was a tough circumstance to be in.
My parents said, “Anne, you need to get a new car.” I would respond with all the reasons I couldn’t afford a new car. But then a thought occurred to me: “If I could get a car, what would it be?” That simple thought propelled me out of circumstance-based thinking into
dreaming.
I bought a book on cars and started researching what would be the best car for my desires. Then I started going to car lots and test-driving them. If they didn’t have a comfortable seat, I checked them off my list. I got the car narrowed down to a Ford Contour. I wanted my car to have a V6 engine, be the color Pacific Green Clearcoat, and have a gray interior. (In other words, I wanted my car to have a silver lining.)
I was so passionate about what I wanted that my two sisters went out and bought Contours before me! They figured I had done the research and knew what I was talking about.
My issue was that it was coming to the end of the car-year season. V6 car engines were hard to find, let alone a Pacific Green Clearcoat, and in this model year, I had only seen tan interiors, not the silver lining I was looking for. This was circumstance-based thinking.
In the meantime, I continued to dream, even though I had no idea how I would pay for my new car. I just had to put the “how” on hold. I cut out a picture of the car I wanted and I wrote down on my calendar which day I was going to buy it. I contacted people across the country who might be able to help me find the car.
Then someone who knew I was financially just getting back on my feet chose to help me by giving me money for a down payment. I cried as my heart filled with gratitude. The “how” had been answered in a way I could not have expected.
However, the night before the date I had put on my calendar, I still had not found the car I was looking for, so I was feeling doubtful. I decided to go to the Ford dealer closest to my house to test drive a 4-cylinder car one more time. I was almost ready to toss in the
towel and let the dream go.
I got there just before closing time. When the salesman met me, I said I was there to look at the 4-cylinder Contours he had on the lot, adding, “Although I am looking at the 4-cylinder, I really want a V6.”
The next words out of his mouth were, “We just brought a V6 into the showroom this afternoon. I don’t know what you think about the color green.”
I could barely breathe as I tried not to look too excited. I replied, “Yeah, green is okay.”
When he took me into the showroom, there was the V6 Contour— not in Hunter Green, but in the Pacific Green Clearcoat of my dream. The interior color was the silver lining I had dreamed of. I would recognize two surprise additions to that car as gifts. First, it was the model SE, which to me meant “spiritual exercise,” and second, it was equipped with a spoiler on the back. It was time for me to learn how to spoil myself.
The salesman let me take the car home for the evening to think about it. The next day, with the assistance of a friend who was a car salesman, he helped me get the price lowered on the car. When I signed the financial papers and saw the loan payments, it was exactly
what I was able to afford.
What had just happened? I had just bought a car that circumstance thinking would have told me was impossible. By creating a very clear vision of what I wanted, I was able to buy this car on the precise date I had written in my vision and have payments I could afford. I got exactly what I had dreamed of with something better still—my new Contour V6 in Pacific Green Clearcoat with the silver lining. I was completely in awe of what had just transpired in
my life and grateful to God for the incredible blessing.
This type of experience can happen to you if you dare to dream beyond circumstances that tell you what you want cannot be done. Allow yourself the opportunity to say to yourself, “But if I could have this dream, what would it look like?” Several other key factors are also necessary in creating your dream—being passionate about it, defining its details, having gratitude throughout the process, trusting that it is all working out, and eating, breathing, and living your dream as if it is already yours—keeping an open hand to God for this or something better.
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