I’m mama to the sweetest…and spunkiest…toddler in the world.

Or, at least it feels that way.

Oh, the spunk and sparkle that my Maelie has packed into her three years and almost-eight months of life so far.

We joke in our house that she came out of the womb with a mind of her own, and that hasn’t changed.

And what’s been awesome to see is how God has used her spunky personality to bless others…even though she’s young.

It’s translated to things like random people at church getting full-on hugs. Chatting with people in the store…one day when she was two, she literally greeted an entire family as they walked into Target.

She’s not afraid of anyone…and she’s not afraid to love them, either.

Last fall my husband took her to a playground just down our street. While she was playing, a little girl fell off her bike nearby and was crying. As people went to help her, Mae jumped up to go, too. Wanting to keep her out of the way, my husband asked her to stay with him.

And in all of her three year-old wisdom…and there was a lot of it…she realized what she could do. She stopped, folded her hands, and prayed for the little girl.

That spunkiness? It’s also becoming compassion.

Just last summer, I was having a week.

You know, that kind of week.

Difficult, emotional…and I just couldn’t hold back the tears one afternoon. We were cuddled on the bed as she watched a show, and I remember her looking over at me.

Mommy, what’s wrong?

Nothing, sweetie. Mommy’s just sad.

She thought for a moment, hopped down and trotted to her room, returning quickly with her adorable project from Vacation Bible School that morning…a creation covered with little sticky shapes.

Carefully, she peeled a heart from it and placed it on my hand.

Mommy? I love you.

And as the tears fell even faster, I made the I-love-you sign to her.

Her response? To grab on to my pinky and hold it tightly.

It was compassion at its most beautiful.

What a gift she’s been given…and even more, my sweet girl is embracing it completely. It’s part of who she is, and she’s not afraid to show it. (<—Tweet this!)

Even, live it.

And she inspires me to live it, too.

I don’t know what the dreams are that will someday fill her heart, but the one thing I do know is that there’s nothing God can’t do in her life if she continues to embrace fully exactly who He’s created her to be.

 “What gifts are waiting to be opened within your heart?
How will you use them to change your little corner of the world today?”

 (Opening the Door to Your God-Sized Dream, p. 44)

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This week we’re sharing how to embrace the strengths He’s given us as gifts.
What are some gifts He has placed in your heart?

Share your story on your blog and link up with other God-sized dreamers below.
{For those who don’t have a blog, we invite you to share in the comments or on Facebook.}

Let’s all display the link up photo so we can find each other! Click here for link.

Next week, we’ll be writing about the times when we don’t feel worthy of the dreams we have.
Do you wonder how God could even want you when He knows everything about you?

{Prompts from Chapters 6 and 7 of Holley’s devotional, Opening the Door to Your God-Sized Dream.}

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“I don’t think I have a dream in my heart anymore,” I shared confidentially with my friend.

It had started to feel like drudgery.

I had gone to law school thinking I would become some sort of legally licensed social worker type.  Superhero cape flying as I leapt in to rescue those in need.

That was before the school loans came due and I realized that a non-profit job wasn’t an option if I wanted to pay them back.

I had some other dreams.

Writing.  Planning events.  Maybe even, dare I whisper it, speaking.

Life happened and turned and looped and I was happy, mostly.  Because I was a happy, mostly, person.

There were family dreams too.  Marriage.  Children.  Both were far delayed beyond anything I imagined.  But then they each did, eventually, occur.

So there we sat.  My best friend and me over what was probably my zillionth cup of coffee.

Me with absolutely NO room to complain.  I had a good job.  I enjoyed it and it paid well.  It wasn’t my dream, but heck, I didn’t know what my dream was anymore or if I even had one.  Not to mention I had a darling, albeit incredibly tired, husband.  And we’d been blessed with not one, not two, but three babies.

But my body was all upside down.  My bra had stains on it from when I hadn’t had time to pump quickly enough.  They lay there in a row, God bless all fairly healthy, with these little monitors tied around their chests at three months old.  And I’d gone back to work.

I didn’t think I could dream anymore.  And if I could dream, what on Earth would it be now?  I had some serious limitations with my career because of financial obligations.  I had some serious limitations with my time because of these little people.  I had some serious limitations with my imagination because I hadn’t slept through the night in ages.

“What if I don’t have a dream anymore?”

Well, my friend shared wise words much like my now friend Holley Gerth would have shared had she been sitting opposite:

First, this is just a stage.  A phase.  Don’t put a ton of pressure on yourself to know what’s next in this moment.  And second, more importantly, what do you love?  What did you used to dream about?  What makes you happy?  Is there one teeny tiny thing you could do to connect with that childhood or young adult self? 

What about you?  What do you love?  What makes you happy?  Would you share your story about what to do if you don’t know what your God-sized dream is here in the link up?  We’d love to read your words.

Shared by: Gindi Eckel Vincent

Photo Credit: John Morgan

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This week we ask, “What if I don’t know my God-sized dream?“

Let’s link up our answers to these helpful questions:
“Take a few minutes to think back over your life and the desires of your heart – even as a child.
What did you really love? What did you feel most excited about?
Hidden within your answers may be the seed of a God-sized dream.”
From Holley Gerth, Opening the Door to Your God-Sized Dream

Share your story on your blog and link up with other God-sized dreamers below.
{For those who don’t have a blog, we invite you to share in the comments or on Facebook.}

Let’s all display the link up photo so we can find each other! (Click here for link)

For the next week, no matter what fear is telling us, let’s take a small step towards our God-sized dream.
We’ll meet here next Tuesday and share our stories!

{Our weekly prompts are taken from Holley Gerth’s devotional, Opening the Door to Your God-Sized Dream.}