Have you ever experienced the loss of a big dream? I have, too. In fact, probably just like you, I’ve had several of those experiences! But let me tell you about one that had the biggest impact on my early career years.

A little over 15 years ago, my husband Matt and I were living our dream —> volunteering and teaching organized sports with some friends on a tiny island off the coast of East Africa. Until we found out we were expecting a baby. That was NOT the plan. We considered our best medical options in the area—and after some amazing, class-A medical care at West Nairobi Hospital by a female Kenyan doctor who was trained at John Hopkins University—we decided to leave our tiny island and head back home to the US. We arrived home excited/nervous/scared to become parents. And asked A LOT of questions that basically boiled down to one: WHY?

Why now?

Why not later?

Why did we give up everything to pursue a dream, only to return a few months later?

Why did we have to go through the pain and heartache surrounding our decision to leave our island and go home?

Why God?

This WAS our DREAM.

But almost 16 years later, we have perspective. And this is what we know now —> The loss of one dream almost always gives birth to a new dream.

We know that loss creates space in our lives for something new . . . and from those deep places of hurt/loss/wounds, we actually develop a greater capacity to LOVE. And loss gives us new eyes to learn + grow + develop in ways we never even knew were possible.

Looking back, we are so grateful for the gift of losing a big dream in those early years and SO grateful for the gift of a sweet baby boy who completely changed the trajectory of our lives before he was even born.

So, if you’re dealing with loss too, here are a few Q’s for you:

• What are you learning from your loss?
• What are you avoiding about your loss?
• How has your loss made way for something new in your life?
• In what tangible, practical ways has loss given you a greater capacity to love?