"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay." —Habakkuk 2:3

The Daily Race

My racing heart awakes me from a deep sleep.

A car crosses the center median, aimed towards my car. My body tenses up, waiting for the car to slam into mine, sending us both into the deep ravine paralleling the road. Miraculously, I'm not hit and keep speeding down the highway.

Adrenalin surges.

The near miss terrifies me. My hands grip the steering wheel, shaking from sheer fright. How did that car miss me? I stomp on the brake. Will I be able to pull over before my adrenalized terror crashes my car?

But it was all a dream.

Yet, it reminds me of the near hit and misses of everyday life. Albert Einstein observed, "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." Obviously, he was not a single parent, because everything accelerates towards me at once, crowding the parenting lane.

What's the Difference

Between a Dream and a Vision?

I process my emotions through dreams. I've resolved issues from the past, solved today's problems and deciphered plans for the future. Dreams occur lying down with eyes closed.

My opened-eyed vision of the future allows me to look down different roads to see what could happen for sons and myself.

Solo parents function as visionaries in our children's lives, requiring a forward motion. We can parent either from the source of power and moral guidance or from fear.

Consciously and unconsciously, I react to challenges that alarm my heart. One of my favorite promises of God for my children and I calms my anxiety, "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope,'" (Jeremiah 29:11 NASB).

When trapped in the fast lane, surrounded by chaos, I ponder Job's challenge, "Will I take delight in the Almighty? Will I call on God at all times?" (Job 27:10 NASB).

Yes! I choose to believe God's higher vision calling me to take heroic action.

And the daring actions God requires of me?

• Call on me. (Jeremiah 29:12)
  
• Come and pray to Me. (Jeremiah 29:12)
  
• Seek me. (Jeremiah 29:13)
  
• Search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)
  

If I "Trust in Him at all times, Pour out my heart before Him; God is my refuge," (Psalm 62:8 NASB). I don't know about you, but the demands of life feel so out of control that I need a safe place to find comfort, rest and hope.

God's Response to My Wild Ride Screams?

He will listen to me. (Jeremiah 29:12)

I will find Him. (Jeremiah 29:13)

He will restore my future and my fortunes. (Jeremiah 11; 14)

Not a bad exchange on life's roadway if you ask me.