Dreams and opportunity come out of rejection

I had a dream. Well, I have lots of dreams. It seems that I am never satisfied. That may sound bad to some but it is motivation to me.

I didn't plan to go to college. My parents never really pushed us in any direction. They are both college graduates but they let my sister and I figure things out on our own.

We were even able to listen to secular music. Yes, this was a big deal on the hill that we grew up on. Once, my neighbor's father got a hold of my boom box and fixed it so I could only listen to the Christian station. My other neighbor's father banned her from coming over and listening to Steve Taylor. The song "Life Boat" was just wrong.

I did graduate undergrad, a couple times in fact. That was a dream that I didn't know I had. Then sitting at graduation beside a friend, because our last name's were both Wilkinson, she asked what I was going to do next. I was clueless and very scared at the thought. She asked if I wanted to go to grad school at Marshall and pursue a masters in communication studies. Shoot, why not!

I taught at Marshall for two years, completed the degree, substituted in the public school system and supported my husband and I while he began his college career. It took us seven years to rack up four degrees between us. These were dreams that we didn't know we had.

Many other things have happened to us in our fifteen years of marriage. So many dreams that have became realizations. So many things that at first glance looked awful but turned out to me amazing.

Some may have heard this story before but it had such a huge impact on us and where we are today. The church that my parents founded. The church that they gave away to concentrate on state and city ministry. The church that I was raised in and continued to attend for twenty plus years. The only church family my husband really ever knew. Told Bob and I that we no longer belonged there. We were post-modern and they were modern. (The term post-modern was the new buzz word at the time and I still don't think anyone knows what it means) I know they meant this as a good thing and hopefully spoke it out of love. However, it didn't feel like that at the time.

It felt as though the ones that knew me since I could walk were turning their backs on us. However, it turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened. It pushed us out. It gave us wings. It gave us the opportunity to risk it all.

I faced city councils repeatably. I faced protests. I faced rumors. I faced great love from pastors that I had never really felt before. To be continued....