“Dream
as if you’ll live forever . . . live as if you die today!” ~ James Dean
Greg owns a horse ranch and lets
me use it for fund-raising events to benefit disadvantaged, inner-city
kids. Kids-at-risk are a passion of mine
and Greg’s an old friend and a compelling storyteller. He entertains benevolent audiences with this
tale of a wandering horse trainer’s son.
Training horses ain’t no easy life! Roaming from ranch to ranch, they slept in
closed quarters, without air conditioning, shirts for pillows and newspaper
blankets. Foul odors couldn’t be erased
with citrus leaves or cheap soap. As a
result of his nomadic lifestyle, the boy’s high school career was continually disrupted.
As a senior, he was tasked to write a thesis
outlining his post-graduation plans.
That night he wrote a lengthy paper eloquently
describing his goal of owning a horse ranch someday. His dream was artfully detailed. He even added a diagram of a 200-acre ranch,
showing the location of the buildings, the stables and a track. A meticulous 4,000 ft2 floor plan completed
his dream house. He was proud of his
work and excited to hand his “vision” to the teacher.
His paper was returned later that week
with a large red ‘F’ and a note that read, “See me after class.” The boy was heartbroken; he had poured his
soul into that assignment. How could he
have failed?
After class, the teacher explained,
“This was not to be fiction, but a realistic plan outlining what you are GOING
TO DO after graduation. You have no money;
you have no permanent home or job! Owning a ranch requires a lot of capital – you
have to buy land, you have to buy breeding stock. Later you’ll go broke paying stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it,” the
teacher chided. Then he tried to console
the boy by adding, “I’ll reconsider your final grade if you rewrite this paper
with a more realistic ambition.
The boy went home and pondered his
options for nearly a week. After
thoughtful reflection, he turned in the same paper, making no changes whatsoever. He added this note in the margin:
“Keep your ‘F’ . . . I’ll keep my dream!”
Greg smiled to the assembled group and says, “Welcome – to
my 4,000 ft2 dream house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same
schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out here on my ranch for a week. And he admitted to being a “dream stealer.”
Fortunately I had enough gumption never to give up on mine. Don’t ever let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what!”
Dream Weaver, with You nothing is impossible! Let my faith provide the golden wings to soar
beyond all earthly things. Help me to
reach beyond the stars yet keep my eye on Your Son and my feet on His path. Amen.
