I’m beginning to believe again that anything is possible.  That’s what God has been stirring up in my little heart.  All things are possible.  All that’s hoped for can be.

Two things must exist for our hopes to become realities, though, and most people are unwilling to chase after one or both:  foundations and hard work.

Here’s what I mean.  If I want to run a marathon, I have to be willing to work hard and train for months ahead of time.  Before I can start training and going on miles-long runs, I have to lay a foundation of core strengthening so the rest of my body can support all that running.  If I start from a place of not really being a runner already (otherwise known as a “couch potato”), I have to get my body used to running eight to ten miles per week before I even start training for that marathon.

Are you kidding?

That’s where my dreams usually stop.  In theory, I’m willing to do the hard work.  My work ethic is as strong as they come.  But I have no patience—hear me:  none—to do the pre-work.  Put me in when all that prep has been done, and I will dive in with both feet and my sleeves rolled up.  Ask me to lay foundations, though, and I will tell you I don’t build houses.

That’s easy to say when it comes to marathons.  I never cared much for running anyway.  But what about those bigger, deep-down dreams that are central to who I am?  Those dreams not just about what I want to do, but who I want to be?

One dream we all have in common is to fall in love.  We all desire, in some way, to be found and known and cherished, and to be so captivated by someone we would give our very lives.  We were created for a love like that.  We know that when we find it, it takes hard work.

In theory, I’m willing to do the hard work.  Send me a knight in shining armor on a white horse, y’all.  I got this.  But before I can receive that love, or give that love, and give him access to the depths of my heart, I need to lay some pretty serious foundations.

Most of us dream of love like a fairy tale without realizing that while fairy tales exist, the perfect people they depict don’t.  Did you ever see Tangled?  That girl needed some major help to get out of her tower before she could really fall in love with Flynn.

Here’s what I’m learning.  It’s ok to have towers when it comes to those deep-down dreams.  We all have them.  We constructed them to keep our hearts safe—a noble intention, even if it is rather misguided—but now it’s time to come down.

It’s time to come down, and not just fall in love, but first lay some foundations.  Your foundation looks different than mine.  Maybe your foundation means counseling and going after healing.  Maybe your foundation means discovering who you are, deep down, without anyone else’s dreams masking yours.  Don’t be scared.  Don’t be ashamed.  This is your foundation.  You need this.

We’re not here to compare foundations.  We’re here to pour some concrete—you and I, together—so that later, we can dive in with both feet, sleeves rolled up, and do the hard work no one else wants to do, in order to bring to life the dreams everyone else would rather give up on.