“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”— Martin Luther King, Jr., 8/28/63
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
MLK, Jr. is known for so much, yet one moment stands out about the rest: his “I Have a Dream Speech.” It truly was a day that went down in history as arguably “the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” In that moment, the nation was captivated not just by a speech, but by a dream–one man’s dream that articulated the dreams and hopes of so many around the country.
It was a catalyst for incredible change and a vision of a world that could have been, should have been, and has today become a reality.
He gave voice to the hopes of a nation.
Thank God for this words of incredible vision and inspiration. Thank God he took the time to articulate what so many hope and prayed. Thank God for the sacrifice of MLK, Jr.
Do You Have a Dream?
January is still the beginning of a new year. There is no better time than now to consider your own dream.
- What’s your dream for 2014?
- What’s your dream for 2019?
- What’s your dream for the future?
- What’s your dream for your family?
- What’s your dream for your work?
- What’s your dream for the world?
I became a little obsession about dreams and vision late last year. I wrote about “articulating a classroom vision in my book, 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, but I don’t think I really understood the concept until I read the work of Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran in Rebuilt and Tools for Rebuilding.
Vision is a picture of the world that could and should be. It says that the status quo isn’t good enough.
So, the question I’m asking myself today is: do I have a dream?
Second, do I have the courage to share that dream, that vision with others?
My Dreams and Visions
I spent a lot of time considering the vision and mission of The Religion Teacher in December. Here is what I came up with, though it is still in the works:
A Church of Spirit-filled disciples who can’t keep their faith to themselves.
As a catechist, I’m beginning to prepare a group of second graders for their first communions. It is a big year in the faith journey, yet they are still young. Nevertheless, here is my vision for their class:
A First Reconciliation and First Communion experience that they tell their friends about.
Writing all of this, I realize that we don’t have a personal and family vision articulated. We live by a family mission statement in our home (“Teach each other how to love by prayer, developing a welcoming home of hospitality, and being grateful by seeing all that we have as a blessing from God.”), but we haven’t done any dreaming in awhile. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and not take some time to dream about tomorrow.
Thanks MLK, Jr. for inspiring us all to have our own visions, our own articulations of the hopes for a better world. Forgive me if my humble visions do not match the magnitude of what you fought for.
