I will never forget New Year’s Eve of 2009. On the one hand, we were so happy. That year we had our third and final child and our family of five was a tremendous source of joy. On the other hand, I was so eager to turn the calendar to 2010 and leave a very difficult year in the dust. That year was heavy with sure-fire investments that didn’t pan out, extended-family health crises, and financial uncertainty that often kept us awake at night.

It was the kind of year that felt like every category of our lives was in a tailspin (with the exception of our marriage and children; for that I want to always give thanks). To say we were in a constant state of waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop would be a gross understatement. Instead, it felt like waiting for a hammer to make its final blow, crushing all of our dreams and expectations for the life we thought we would be living. It was a year in which stress was high and bad news seemed to be the only constant thing we could rely on.

I guess that’s why New Year’s Eve of 2009 was so memorable. We had a house full of toddlers and babies, so we were ringing in the New Year at home and probably well before midnight. Early in the evening my husband had the wonderful audacity to bring home a bottle of wine with a subtle label that read: Dreaming Tree. He sat it on the counter, put his arms around me and said, “Let’s spend tonight dreaming of our future and praying about what God has in store for us.” This was odd for two reasons. First, it was exactly the first time my husband ever purchased and brought home a bottle of wine (he doesn’t really drink but saw the label at the store and couldn’t pass it up). Second, and more poignantly, it felt like an absolute affront to think we could dream good dreams about our future given our current state. Dreaming felt like one more luxury we couldn’t afford. And it felt like there was an accuser whispering, “How dare you dream? Things are bad and focusing on how bad they are is where you should spend your energy. That good stuff you want to dream about? That’s not for you.”

But my husband’s suggestion that we spend the evening dreaming and praying for our future totally shifted the paradigm of our circumstances. Dreaming about our future hadn’t occurred to me. I didn’t feel like I was even allowed to dream anymore – it felt off-limits. We were constantly facing the crises at hand, not looking at the future, unless it was to forecast disaster.  For the first time in a long time, we had hope. We weren’t just praying to be relieved of our current problems, but we remembered that we were praying to God who had “a hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11) for us. We needed to be reminded that God was bigger than our current troubles.  

It seems silly now, if not obvious. But it wasn’t obvious then. I think a lot of people go through trials in which dreaming of good things on behalf of a good God seems at the very least inappropriate, and more, dare I say, cruel.  Add to that, we have an enemy who is eager to whisper, “All is lost. God can’t be trusted and He doesn’t love you. If He did, your life would be better.” All the while our Father, who knows our every hurt as well as the number of hairs on our heads, cares deeply about our circumstances and His silence does not equal His absence or abandonment.

And thankfully, the Bible is full of stories of people whose circumstances were dire, only to be completely and utterly surprised by the provisions of God. The Widow of Zarephath is such a story that reminds us even when we believe we are at the end of our rope; God provides in a way that brings us to our knees in worship because there is no logical or human explanation – only a God with no lack and a gracious heart.

1 Kings 17:8-24 introduces a widow who lived in Zarephath during a famine. She had likely seen many people in her town die of starvation, and she was in fact, preparing to die with her son. She was gathering sticks to make a fire for her last meal when she was approached by the prophet, Elijah. Elijah asked the woman for some water and as she was going to get it, he added to the order, “And please bring me a piece of bread.” The audacity to ask for bread during a famine! The widow responded, “As surely as the Lord your God lives, I don’t have any bread – only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it – and die.” Her circumstance was dire and she was long past hoping for even one more day of life.

Elijah told her not to be afraid and to first make him a small cake of bread and bring it to him and then make bread for herself and her son. And then he shared with her, “For this is what the Lord says, ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’” She did as Elijah asked, and her flour and oil did not run out during the famine, just as Elijah said.

That was not the end of her trouble, though. Her story takes an even more dramatic turn. Some time later, the widow’s only son became terminally ill and stopped breathing. It seems cruel to provide endless food during a famine only to have her son die soon after. But we do not serve a cruel God. No, this was a divine calling. As the boy was lifeless, Elijah laid himself on the boy’s body and cried out to God to give him life and the boy inhaled. God chose this widow to be a part of a prophecy about the most significant event in our world’s history. The widow and her son witnessed and participated in death and resurrection! Not even in her wildest dreams could the widow have imagined when she was picking up sticks readying herself to die that her life would be marked by miracles and recorded for every generation to be encouraged by.

We serve a God who is not beholden to our circumstances. I can’t recall what we planned for most New Year’s Eve celebrations. But I vividly remember the opportunity to dream when it seemed like hope wasn’t for us, when our circumstances had to bow to the God of a hope and a future. Sometimes dreaming with God is just what our hearts need when our situation is daunting. As for us, our circumstances did change, not immediately, but in ways that were better than we could have asked for or imagined on New Year’s Eve of 2009.

Dear Lord, thank You for being the last say in our lives – not our circumstances. Every plan must be sifted through Your hands. You have great plans for us and we trust You. Lord, let us be reminded of stories of Your goodness in the Bible and through the testimony of others. You are still in the business of writing beautiful, miraculous stories. We love You, too. Maranatha! Amen.