When Dreams Bloom in Others

What you laid down in surrender, Christ is bringing to life in others—for His glory and your joy.

This past Friday, I sat in a crowded auditorium at Harvard Medical School, watching my oldest son walk across the stage during his Match Day ceremony. He opened his envelope and discovered he had matched at his top choice: a six-year integrative cardiothoracic surgery residency at Columbia University. His face lit up. My heart did too.

Years ago, after finishing dental school, I was accepted into a six-year MD/Oral Surgery residency. It was everything I had worked for… but I turned it down, choosing a path in orthodontics instead—for the sake of family and a more sustainable lifestyle. I set aside the dream of becoming a surgeon. Now, my son is stepping into that very world. What I laid down, he has taken up.

And that’s not all. My youngest son is in a PhD program at the University of Connecticut, specializing in experimental quantum optics. He just successfully completed the major experiment for his dissertation. I once dreamed of earning a PhD too—I had even begun a program at MIT in nuclear engineering in the mid-1980s but left it to eventually pursue dentistry. Again, a dream surrendered.

And my daughter? She graduated with degrees in graphic design and public relations. She now works in marketing and photography—a creative path I once longed for but never felt gifted enough to pursue. She’s living it with joy and excellence.

In every one of my children, I see glimmers of the paths I once imagined for myself. But this doesn’t bring sorrow—it brings a quiet joy. The Lord whispered something deeper to me in that moment: It’s not about what might have been… it’s about what I AM doing through you, in them, and in others you’ve discipled.

I’ve seen the same in the ministry of biblical discipleship. There are men and women whom I’ve had the privilege of walking with through seasons of brokenness, doubt, or despair—who are now stepping into deeper dependence on Christ and, by His Spirit, becoming vessels of healing and strength for others. Some may become what I once dreamed of being in ministry. And that, too, is beautiful.

The surrendered dreams, the laid-down ambitions, the yes’s whispered in quiet obedience—none of them were lost. They were planted. And now, I see them blooming in others. In my children. In the Body of Christ.

Journal Entry in the Holy Spirit’s Voice Through Scripture

I have not forgotten the dreams you set aside, nor the quiet sacrifices you made when no one else saw. What you surrendered in obedience, I received in love—and I have not wasted a single seed. I have multiplied them in others.

You are a member of My Body. The gifts I give are distributed according to My perfect wisdom. Some plant. Some water. Some reap. But it is I who give the growth. You were not called to become everything you dreamed—but to become Mine. And I have made you a vessel of life for others.

Do not grieve what you did not become. Rejoice in who I am becoming in them—because you trusted Me.

For I know the plans I have for them… and for you. In eternity, the fruit will astound you.

“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)
“We, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Romans 12:5)
“Each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Peter 4:10)
“It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13)

Prayer of Trust

Lord Jesus, thank You that the dreams I surrendered were not buried in loss but planted in love. You are bearing fruit through my children, through those I’ve discipled, and through others in Your Body—often in ways I never expected. I trust You with what was, with what is, and with what is yet to come. Thank You for the privilege of being a vessel through whom You can bring life to others. I rest in the quiet joy that Christ in me is guiding others into the fullness of Your plan. Amen.

Photo from Unsplash

Photo Intent:
A man standing in a wide-open field under a bright sky—symbolizing yielded dreams that God causes to bloom in His time.