Am I crazy to dream?

Well today was my first day off from work in quite awhile. Can't believe how many hours they've been giving me! I mean I'm super happy because wow God just answered my prayer by providing this means of income for me, but boy, does it get some getting used to!
Took my senior pictures with Miss Shelly Bokmiller at Botanical Gardens today...that was an adventure. We had so much fun. So seems like a pretty chill day right? Kinda normal, nothing too, too amazing...feeling pretty sad about Lib though. Get's harder as time goes by and it starts to sink in more. 
However, God did meet me in ways I couldn't have imagined. He showed me something today that has changed me. Changed my outlook on life. Changed my perspective. Given me a new fire that I can't even describe.

He told me to dream.

Dream. Okay Hannah, what is that supposed to mean? Hehe to be perfectly honest, i have a feeling that I have alot more of this to figure out. But somehow it just hit me like a ton of bricks, and now I know something new inside is beginning to grow.
I was supposed to mow the grass when I got home from pictures. Haha yeah right I thought. Its freakin 100 degrees, the sun is beating down, and I am exhausted. All I honestly want to do is shower, make an iced coffee, curl up on the couch, and watch LOST. Frankly, nothing sounds more delightful.
But like I said, God had different plans for me. For some crazy reason, I went out to that shed, pulled out the mower, and began to cut the grass. And about half way through, in the hottest, brightest part of the yard, He met me.
He showed me that I was MADE to work hard! He showed me that this was exactly what I was supposed to be doing: wroking hard, listening to my country music, and sweating liek crazy. And you know what else? He opened my eyes to see that I LOVE it! In that moment, there was nothing I wanted to do more than sweat, feel my arms burning from raking all the dead grass afterwards, and getting all gross and filthy. I loved it!!!
So okay, you're probably wondering what in the world all this has to do with dreaming? Let me explain :)
My whole life I have wanted to live on a farm. I cannot put into words the joy I find in the peace of the countryside, the rolling hills, the rustic red barns, the sounds of the animals (working on appreciating their smells still lol), the fulfillment you find in harvesting your own food and crops, the endless tasks that can always give you an occupation...and the wonderful, God-given simplicity of it all. And I have wanted that for as long as I can remember.
But of course, what kind of hope can a 17 year- old girl, living in Chesapeake, getting ready for her senior year, about to become a nurse, a Young Life leader, and so many other things, cling to that her dream would actually come true?

Until today friends....I had none.

Yet like I said, working hard out there today showed me that this was the kind of life I was meant for. God has not given me an easy road. I have walked through many valleys, many dark forests, and forded many rushing rivers. But now I see that this is because God is preparing me to be a strong vessel in His kingdom. A great christian can't expect to not be greatly tested. And I have come to love these difficulties, these struggles, and these hardships...for He is making me stronger!!!
And i have never been so so excited for my future! What if by some crazy miracle, He is preparing me for my dream life? Farm life is no cakewalk my friends, let me tell you. Yet wouldn't it be something if my Jesus actually gave me this desire of my heart? I have never dared to dream or to pray for this to become a reality so hard before. We will see what He has in store for me!

So I encourage you, dear friend. Dare to dream big. Bigger than you think possible. Pray for the insane, the immpractical, the "silly". Jesus doesn't take our dreams or our prayers lightly. Why not ask Him? You'll be shocked at what He'll do. And if He doesn't give you precicely what you want, it's only because He has something SO MUCH BETTER WAITING FOR YOU!

So let's give Him our dreams.
He is just waiting to hear them!