After being inspired by Bruce Wilkinson’s book, The Dream Giver, Jasmine Johnson set out to share her tale of persistence and dream-walking. This is her story.
Once upon a time there was a Little Girl with big dreams who wanted to build a big sand castle. She believed anything was possible so she put on her backpack and headed for the beach knowing that she was meant for great things.
One day the Little Girl saw that while the sand castle she was building was wonderful, something important was missing. It needed to look more like the Father’s work and that would require tools that she didn’t have.
So the Little Girl prayed, “Father, I need Your help. I want to be more like You and I want everything I do to reflect Your character. In order to do that, I’ll need tools I don’t have right now. Can You help me? Your Word says you specialize in just this sort of problem. Please make me into the person I need to be to build this castle. Thank You - You’re the best!”
The Father answered by sending a big wave to wash away everything she’d built. In one sweep, the wave erased all of her work. But since the Father didn’t tell her what He was doing, she wondered if she’d made a mistake about Him. Maybe He didn’t hear her, or worse, maybe He didn’t want to help.
The Little Girl didn’t know what to do, but since she didn’t have anything left, all she could do was pray and start rebuilding. She picked up the tools she had, put them in her backpack, and began walking, hoping to find another part of the beach where she could rebuild her sand castle. Each time she came to a smooth place, the Little Girl walked down to the waterfront to build another castle. However, every castle she tried to build was washed away by the tide.
She continued to pray, “Father, I love You and I want to serve You. You’ve given me a lot and all I want is Your favor. I want to be blessed by You and enjoy Your goodness. I want people to know I’m Your child, and I want everything I have to reflect Your love and power. I need You right now. My sand castles keeping getting washed away into the sea and the tools I need haven’t arrived. Please send the tools and hold back the tide so I can build. Thank You for listening. I’ll be right here when You get ready to bless me.”
Then night came and it was dark. It was too dark to build. She waited for morning to come. It didn’t. She figured that she had to keep building so she tried, but the waves were meaner than they had been during the day and she was getting wet. Before she knew it, the night sky went completely black and the Little Girl was cold, wet, and alone. Where was the Father when she needed Him?
Some people came by to wait with her. They couldn’t help her build or make the Father answer. They sat and waited with her, but what she needed more than anything was something only the Father could provide.
She began to get upset. She did what she was supposed to. She believed, she prayed, she waited, and she even encouraged others to believe. So where was her help? And what about all of the promises she read about in His Word? Didn’t they apply to her?
The Little Girl prayed: “I know You’re not always pleased with me. I know I’m a mess sometimes- who are we kidding, a lot of the times - but why are You ignoring me? Your Word says I’m supposed to come to You. It says that You want me to give You my cares, concerns and dreams. I did that. How come You’ve left me here by myself? Please answer me. I’m still waiting for Your help and Your blessings. I can’t continue without You. Oh, and it’s cold, dark, and I’m wet so if You can hurry up I’d really appreciate it. I’ll be right here waiting for You. Thank You.”
She didn’t want to sound mad, but it was cold and her teeth were chattering.
Most of the people waiting with her said that the Father was listening, that He was preparing great things for her, and that she shouldn’t think about how cold she was. She believed what they were telling her, but when she looked around all she saw was darkness. Besides, it’s pretty hard to forget you’re cold when your teeth are chattering.
Other people who passed by suggested that maybe the Father didn’t want the Little Girl to build sand castles at all, and that this was His way of telling her. This didn’t make sense either, she thought. Why would the Father give her the dream to build a sand castle if He didn’t want her to build it?
She looked at her watch and it had been 12 hours since she first asked the Father for help. She was starting to wonder if the other people had been right.
The Little Girl prayed again: “Father, I’m tired, cold, alone, and the sun doesn’t look like it’s going to come out anytime soon. I’ve prayed and waited and all I have to show for it are these tears. I can’t build anything because the tide is too high. I don’t know what else do to do. I can’t keep asking for Your help because my heart breaks every time I open my eyes and see that the tide is still high, my castles are still being crushed by the waves, and it’s still cold and dark. I’m just going to sit here. I don’t know what I’m waiting on, but I’ll just sit here and wait a little while longer. Maybe You’ll take pity on me. I love You, but I don’t think I want to talk to You right now. I’m sorry.”
One day her friend came to wait with her and the Little Girl saw that the Father had blessed her friend. Instead of being encouraged, she felt forsaken. It was still dark and cold where she was and the sun was shining where her friend stood. She couldn’t understand what the Father was doing.
Just when she thought He would never answer, the Father came to talk to her.
“Look in your backpack,” He said. “You have something in there that I need.”
“What’s that Father? All I have in here are my hopes, dreams, tears, fears, faith, belief, doubts, and love,” the Little Girl said as she pulled everything out of her backpack.
The Father looked at her and smiled, waiting for her to understand.
“I don’t get it,” she said. She didn’t get it.
“It’s ok. Let’s go a little slower. Show me everything in your backpack - slowly,” He asked gently.
“Ok, I’ve got hope, love, dreams, faith, tears, belief, doubt, and fear – wait, how did doubt and fear get in here? I didn’t bring those things to the beach.” The Little Girl was confused.
“Yes you did,” He said.
“Are You sure? I don’t remember packing them,” she said.
“You did. But you didn’t just bring them to the beach. You’ve been carrying them around with you everywhere you’ve gone. They started out small so you didn’t notice them, but they’ve grown because you didn’t get rid of them.”
“You sound like You’re on to something, Father. Tell me more.”
“You have some good tools here Little Girl and you’re right, in order to build your castle you need bigger and better tools. Before I can hand those tools to you though, you have to hand the doubt and fear over to Me. No matter how wonderful and effective the tools are that I give you, the doubt and fear in your backpack will ruin whatever you build,” the Father explained.
“Gotcha. What do You want me to do? By the way, You’re super smart.”
The Father laughed. The Little Girl cracked Him up.
“Give Me your doubts and fears. That’s all.”
“Here You go. I don’t want them – I can’t believe they’ve been in here this whole time! Now what? Is there something else You want me to do? You’re very smart and I can tell You have something else up Your sleeve.”
“I don’t have sleeves, Little Girl.” The Father laughed.
The Little Girl laughed too. The Father cracked her up.
“What I do have is something special for you. Can you trust me?”
“I think so.” The Little Girl said.
“Good. Keep praying and hold onto My hand. Now that the fear and doubt are gone, we can get even closer.” The Father said.
“I’d like that,” the Little Girl said.
“Me too. I think you’re special and I’d love for us to be even closer.”
“Wait a minute – You think I’m special? That’s really something because You know lots of people,” she said.
“Absolutely. Why wouldn’t I think you’re special? You’re My daughter. And you know what that means, right?”
“What?” the Little Girl asked.
“It means you’re a princess. And when you come home, you’ll get to see the wonderful things I have to share with you in the Kingdom. In the meantime, you have a job to do.”
“I’m ready to get to work,” the Little Girl said.
“Wonderful. I know you’re not afraid of working hard, and that’s why I’ve given you the desire to build this castle.”
“Thank You for thinking so highly of me,” the Little Girl blushed.
“You have no idea how much I love you. Promise me you won’t ever forget that.”
“I promise,” said the Little Girl, and she meant it. Suddenly she felt horrible about giving Him the silent treatment.
“I understand,” the Father said because He was reading her mind, “I know you love Me.”
“I’m very, very sorry,” she said anyway.
“If I hug you will you believe that I’ve forgiven you?” He asked.
“Yes,” she said, so they hugged.
“I’m going to go now, but I won’t be gone. We’re walking together hand and hand - it’s just you and Me kid!” He said as He winked at her. The Father had a great personality. “What you need to do is keep reading My Word, praying, and believing that My power is immeasurable. There is nothing I can’t do. Don’t believe what your eyes see, or what’s in front of you. The enemy tries to obstruct your view so that you won’t believe. But you know better now. If you believe, you will receive. That’s my promise to you.”
“Wait, let me get something to write with Father. This is good stuff and I want to remember it.” The Little Girl said as she fumbled through her backpack for a pen and paper.
“You’re welcome to write it down, but I’ve already written it down for you. It’s all in My Word.”
“Oh, that’s right. Thank You for thinking ahead,” the Little Girl said.
“No problem, it’s My job. I’m going to leave something with you Little Girl - My Spirit.”
“Oh my goodness! Thank You, I’ll need that! I was going to ask You how I was supposed to keep fear and doubt out of my backpack when I didn’t even realize they were there in the first place,” the Little Girl said.
“My Spirit will help you. It will be there to guide you and protect you. But Little Girl, you’ll have to do your part and make sure you don’t invite fear and doubt back in,” the Father said.
“Why would I knowingly invite them in, Father?” The Little Girl wasn’t talking back. She was genuinely curious.
“Our enemy is sneaky, Little Girl. He makes things like fear, doubt, discouragement, disappointment, insecurity, and uncertainty look like a lot of other things. You pick them up along your way and because they look harmless. You carry them around with you and before you know it they are full grown and have the ability to cause destruction. That’s not how I want you to live your life. I have great and marvelous thing in store for you and I want your life to be a testimony. You can’t minister to others if fear, doubt, discouragement, insecurity, and inconsistency keep destroying your blessings.”
“Tell me about it,” she agreed.
“You can have the victory as long as you keep your hand in Mine.”
“I will,” the little girl said.
“Wonderful,” the Father said.
And He was gone, but this time the Little Girl knew she wasn’t alone.
She looked up and saw that the sun was shining and the tide had receded. It wasn’t cold anymore and she wasn’t alone because just as He’d promised, the Father had left His Spirit with her. He must have taken her backpack with Him too because she didn’t have it anymore. She stood still looking out at the calm sea, and she was filled with joy. Just spending time with the Father had changed her so much that she could feel Him inside of her heart. She didn’t want to move, but something told her to turn around.
She couldn’t believe her eyes! Up on the hill, on high ground, just behind where she and the Father had been talking was the biggest and most beautiful sand castle she’d ever seen.
She ran up to it and noticed that something was different about the ground. Instead of sand, this castle was built on solid ground. The castle looked like the sand castle she had been building, only bigger and much better than anything she could have built herself. She walked up to the front door and saw that her backpack was on the front steps. Inside of it were brand new tools and a note from the Father (she recognized His handwriting) that read:
Dear Princess,
I am so glad you gave me your doubts and fears. I built this for you while we were talking. I know you’ll enjoy it and know exactly what to do with it. Please leave your front door open so I can come in everyday. I love you.
Love,
Your King
The Little Girl was so happy all she could do was cry. She picked up her backpack and opened the front door. Once inside, she saw that each one of her dreams waiting for her. And like the castle, they too looked better than she’d ever imagined. The Little Girl was speechless.
She wanted to thank the Father so she ran down to the beach where she’d met Him and knelt down.
She prayed: “Thank You Father for your patience and mercy. Your love is incredible and I’m amazed that You would choose to love me. I’ve been fickle and unfaithful, yet You’ve never given up on me. I’m thankful and I want to do everything I can to let others know how wonderful You are. I will always keep my hand in Yours and I’ll do whatever You ask of me. I can’t wait to see you in the Kingdom so that we can spend forever together.”
And the Father was pleased.
The Beginning.
WGA Registration Number 1150785
Copyright © August 18, 2006
Once upon a time there was a Little Girl with big dreams who wanted to build a big sand castle. She believed anything was possible so she put on her backpack and headed for the beach knowing that she was meant for great things.
One day the Little Girl saw that while the sand castle she was building was wonderful, something important was missing. It needed to look more like the Father’s work and that would require tools that she didn’t have.
So the Little Girl prayed, “Father, I need Your help. I want to be more like You and I want everything I do to reflect Your character. In order to do that, I’ll need tools I don’t have right now. Can You help me? Your Word says you specialize in just this sort of problem. Please make me into the person I need to be to build this castle. Thank You - You’re the best!”
The Father answered by sending a big wave to wash away everything she’d built. In one sweep, the wave erased all of her work. But since the Father didn’t tell her what He was doing, she wondered if she’d made a mistake about Him. Maybe He didn’t hear her, or worse, maybe He didn’t want to help.
The Little Girl didn’t know what to do, but since she didn’t have anything left, all she could do was pray and start rebuilding. She picked up the tools she had, put them in her backpack, and began walking, hoping to find another part of the beach where she could rebuild her sand castle. Each time she came to a smooth place, the Little Girl walked down to the waterfront to build another castle. However, every castle she tried to build was washed away by the tide.
She continued to pray, “Father, I love You and I want to serve You. You’ve given me a lot and all I want is Your favor. I want to be blessed by You and enjoy Your goodness. I want people to know I’m Your child, and I want everything I have to reflect Your love and power. I need You right now. My sand castles keeping getting washed away into the sea and the tools I need haven’t arrived. Please send the tools and hold back the tide so I can build. Thank You for listening. I’ll be right here when You get ready to bless me.”
Then night came and it was dark. It was too dark to build. She waited for morning to come. It didn’t. She figured that she had to keep building so she tried, but the waves were meaner than they had been during the day and she was getting wet. Before she knew it, the night sky went completely black and the Little Girl was cold, wet, and alone. Where was the Father when she needed Him?
Some people came by to wait with her. They couldn’t help her build or make the Father answer. They sat and waited with her, but what she needed more than anything was something only the Father could provide.
She began to get upset. She did what she was supposed to. She believed, she prayed, she waited, and she even encouraged others to believe. So where was her help? And what about all of the promises she read about in His Word? Didn’t they apply to her?
The Little Girl prayed: “I know You’re not always pleased with me. I know I’m a mess sometimes- who are we kidding, a lot of the times - but why are You ignoring me? Your Word says I’m supposed to come to You. It says that You want me to give You my cares, concerns and dreams. I did that. How come You’ve left me here by myself? Please answer me. I’m still waiting for Your help and Your blessings. I can’t continue without You. Oh, and it’s cold, dark, and I’m wet so if You can hurry up I’d really appreciate it. I’ll be right here waiting for You. Thank You.”
She didn’t want to sound mad, but it was cold and her teeth were chattering.
Most of the people waiting with her said that the Father was listening, that He was preparing great things for her, and that she shouldn’t think about how cold she was. She believed what they were telling her, but when she looked around all she saw was darkness. Besides, it’s pretty hard to forget you’re cold when your teeth are chattering.
Other people who passed by suggested that maybe the Father didn’t want the Little Girl to build sand castles at all, and that this was His way of telling her. This didn’t make sense either, she thought. Why would the Father give her the dream to build a sand castle if He didn’t want her to build it?
She looked at her watch and it had been 12 hours since she first asked the Father for help. She was starting to wonder if the other people had been right.
The Little Girl prayed again: “Father, I’m tired, cold, alone, and the sun doesn’t look like it’s going to come out anytime soon. I’ve prayed and waited and all I have to show for it are these tears. I can’t build anything because the tide is too high. I don’t know what else do to do. I can’t keep asking for Your help because my heart breaks every time I open my eyes and see that the tide is still high, my castles are still being crushed by the waves, and it’s still cold and dark. I’m just going to sit here. I don’t know what I’m waiting on, but I’ll just sit here and wait a little while longer. Maybe You’ll take pity on me. I love You, but I don’t think I want to talk to You right now. I’m sorry.”
One day her friend came to wait with her and the Little Girl saw that the Father had blessed her friend. Instead of being encouraged, she felt forsaken. It was still dark and cold where she was and the sun was shining where her friend stood. She couldn’t understand what the Father was doing.
Just when she thought He would never answer, the Father came to talk to her.
“Look in your backpack,” He said. “You have something in there that I need.”
“What’s that Father? All I have in here are my hopes, dreams, tears, fears, faith, belief, doubts, and love,” the Little Girl said as she pulled everything out of her backpack.
The Father looked at her and smiled, waiting for her to understand.
“I don’t get it,” she said. She didn’t get it.
“It’s ok. Let’s go a little slower. Show me everything in your backpack - slowly,” He asked gently.
“Ok, I’ve got hope, love, dreams, faith, tears, belief, doubt, and fear – wait, how did doubt and fear get in here? I didn’t bring those things to the beach.” The Little Girl was confused.
“Yes you did,” He said.
“Are You sure? I don’t remember packing them,” she said.
“You did. But you didn’t just bring them to the beach. You’ve been carrying them around with you everywhere you’ve gone. They started out small so you didn’t notice them, but they’ve grown because you didn’t get rid of them.”
“You sound like You’re on to something, Father. Tell me more.”
“You have some good tools here Little Girl and you’re right, in order to build your castle you need bigger and better tools. Before I can hand those tools to you though, you have to hand the doubt and fear over to Me. No matter how wonderful and effective the tools are that I give you, the doubt and fear in your backpack will ruin whatever you build,” the Father explained.
“Gotcha. What do You want me to do? By the way, You’re super smart.”
The Father laughed. The Little Girl cracked Him up.
“Give Me your doubts and fears. That’s all.”
“Here You go. I don’t want them – I can’t believe they’ve been in here this whole time! Now what? Is there something else You want me to do? You’re very smart and I can tell You have something else up Your sleeve.”
“I don’t have sleeves, Little Girl.” The Father laughed.
The Little Girl laughed too. The Father cracked her up.
“What I do have is something special for you. Can you trust me?”
“I think so.” The Little Girl said.
“Good. Keep praying and hold onto My hand. Now that the fear and doubt are gone, we can get even closer.” The Father said.
“I’d like that,” the Little Girl said.
“Me too. I think you’re special and I’d love for us to be even closer.”
“Wait a minute – You think I’m special? That’s really something because You know lots of people,” she said.
“Absolutely. Why wouldn’t I think you’re special? You’re My daughter. And you know what that means, right?”
“What?” the Little Girl asked.
“It means you’re a princess. And when you come home, you’ll get to see the wonderful things I have to share with you in the Kingdom. In the meantime, you have a job to do.”
“I’m ready to get to work,” the Little Girl said.
“Wonderful. I know you’re not afraid of working hard, and that’s why I’ve given you the desire to build this castle.”
“Thank You for thinking so highly of me,” the Little Girl blushed.
“You have no idea how much I love you. Promise me you won’t ever forget that.”
“I promise,” said the Little Girl, and she meant it. Suddenly she felt horrible about giving Him the silent treatment.
“I understand,” the Father said because He was reading her mind, “I know you love Me.”
“I’m very, very sorry,” she said anyway.
“If I hug you will you believe that I’ve forgiven you?” He asked.
“Yes,” she said, so they hugged.
“I’m going to go now, but I won’t be gone. We’re walking together hand and hand - it’s just you and Me kid!” He said as He winked at her. The Father had a great personality. “What you need to do is keep reading My Word, praying, and believing that My power is immeasurable. There is nothing I can’t do. Don’t believe what your eyes see, or what’s in front of you. The enemy tries to obstruct your view so that you won’t believe. But you know better now. If you believe, you will receive. That’s my promise to you.”
“Wait, let me get something to write with Father. This is good stuff and I want to remember it.” The Little Girl said as she fumbled through her backpack for a pen and paper.
“You’re welcome to write it down, but I’ve already written it down for you. It’s all in My Word.”
“Oh, that’s right. Thank You for thinking ahead,” the Little Girl said.
“No problem, it’s My job. I’m going to leave something with you Little Girl - My Spirit.”
“Oh my goodness! Thank You, I’ll need that! I was going to ask You how I was supposed to keep fear and doubt out of my backpack when I didn’t even realize they were there in the first place,” the Little Girl said.
“My Spirit will help you. It will be there to guide you and protect you. But Little Girl, you’ll have to do your part and make sure you don’t invite fear and doubt back in,” the Father said.
“Why would I knowingly invite them in, Father?” The Little Girl wasn’t talking back. She was genuinely curious.
“Our enemy is sneaky, Little Girl. He makes things like fear, doubt, discouragement, disappointment, insecurity, and uncertainty look like a lot of other things. You pick them up along your way and because they look harmless. You carry them around with you and before you know it they are full grown and have the ability to cause destruction. That’s not how I want you to live your life. I have great and marvelous thing in store for you and I want your life to be a testimony. You can’t minister to others if fear, doubt, discouragement, insecurity, and inconsistency keep destroying your blessings.”
“Tell me about it,” she agreed.
“You can have the victory as long as you keep your hand in Mine.”
“I will,” the little girl said.
“Wonderful,” the Father said.
And He was gone, but this time the Little Girl knew she wasn’t alone.
She looked up and saw that the sun was shining and the tide had receded. It wasn’t cold anymore and she wasn’t alone because just as He’d promised, the Father had left His Spirit with her. He must have taken her backpack with Him too because she didn’t have it anymore. She stood still looking out at the calm sea, and she was filled with joy. Just spending time with the Father had changed her so much that she could feel Him inside of her heart. She didn’t want to move, but something told her to turn around.
She couldn’t believe her eyes! Up on the hill, on high ground, just behind where she and the Father had been talking was the biggest and most beautiful sand castle she’d ever seen.
She ran up to it and noticed that something was different about the ground. Instead of sand, this castle was built on solid ground. The castle looked like the sand castle she had been building, only bigger and much better than anything she could have built herself. She walked up to the front door and saw that her backpack was on the front steps. Inside of it were brand new tools and a note from the Father (she recognized His handwriting) that read:
Dear Princess,
I am so glad you gave me your doubts and fears. I built this for you while we were talking. I know you’ll enjoy it and know exactly what to do with it. Please leave your front door open so I can come in everyday. I love you.
Love,
Your King
The Little Girl was so happy all she could do was cry. She picked up her backpack and opened the front door. Once inside, she saw that each one of her dreams waiting for her. And like the castle, they too looked better than she’d ever imagined. The Little Girl was speechless.
She wanted to thank the Father so she ran down to the beach where she’d met Him and knelt down.
She prayed: “Thank You Father for your patience and mercy. Your love is incredible and I’m amazed that You would choose to love me. I’ve been fickle and unfaithful, yet You’ve never given up on me. I’m thankful and I want to do everything I can to let others know how wonderful You are. I will always keep my hand in Yours and I’ll do whatever You ask of me. I can’t wait to see you in the Kingdom so that we can spend forever together.”
And the Father was pleased.
The Beginning.
WGA Registration Number 1150785
Copyright © August 18, 2006
posted by Jasmine Johnson | 4:28 PM
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3 comments
