When Dreams Are Dashed

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As an author of a historical fiction novel set at the cusp of The Great Depression, I wondered if many contemporary youth could relate to it. Why? Not because historical fiction isn’t relevant, or even interesting to compare to current events, but because of our nation’s overall wealth and good fortune during their entire lifetime.

For many years now, America has prospered beyond anything my parents and grandparents could have imagined. The main character of my historical fiction, entitled His Gift, Molly White, has high expectations for her future. She believes she knows her life purpose. She has persevered and sacrificed to achieve her dreams. It seems clear God has prepared Molly for this destiny and her plans seem inevitable. Then, like a design of standing Dominoes, one by one her dreams crash to the ground. What will she do and how can she go on? Will she find hope for her tomorrows?

As many of us, I have reflected about how life has changed in this 2020 season of Covid-19. Suddenly, everything we knew as our plans and futures, came to a stop. I wondered how young people are coping with their milestone events cancelled. Adults have also had to reconfigure their life plans, but some life miletones are difficult to recapture, like high school and college graduations.

I asked some young adults and teens to weigh in. Where do you go for hope when everything you’ve expected to happen is CANCELLED? How do you reframe life when your lifetime dreams disappear? Some of these young people have written about their losses, their feelings, and how they are regrouping. Today I share the thoughts of one young lady named Emma, who would have experienced her senior year and high school graduation. I pray that as she considered the interview questions, she was blessed by the process of reflection.

Emma, like most seniors, expected her senior year to be the very best of all her high school experiences. She anticipated her senior prom and all the excitement it would bring. “I envisioned graduation, walking across the stage with my best friends,” she said. In the back of her mind, I imagine she also would have imagined some cheers from family and friends. Everyone would have congratulated her for academic accomplishments as she walked forward to accept her diploma. At first, Emma says, “I was extremely disappointed and heartbroken that my time in high school with my friends and teachers was cut short.” Opportunity lost.

Looking more introspectively, Emma also learned “not to take your stage in life for granted. … I wish I had cherished the season I was in before it was gone.” Such wisdom for such a young age. I affirm Emma’s principle for every single human, no matter what “stage” a person is in. Thank you for digging deep and realizing this truth now as you stand on tiptoes, peering into your future, Emma. I pray that you will never miss the importance of any season in life.

Emma shares how she cried out to God asking the universal question so common to all of us. “Why? Why me? Why at this time in my life?” Emma asked. Realizing she has not received a direct answer from God to all of her questions, she affirms these lessons. “I am beginning to understand part of the ‘why.’ God has allowed me to take this time for personal growth, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I have evaluated the properties in my life and grown so much closer to God. In a way, I am thankful for this quiet time of introspection.”

i encourage every reader to look for answers for themselves, to read, to pray, to seek the One who holds all of our futures. If you don’t have a relationship with God, I pray this bold interruption to your plans will cause you to question and perhaps wonder if there isn’t something more than your own plans as you live your days.

Thank you, Emma, for your wisdom and we pray your future will always be filled with a close relationship with the Lord Your God. I’m praying for a beautiful future as you walk into the “next season.”