I was recently reminded of a lesson I learned early in my Christian life.

In the first few years of our pastorate we were gifted a trip to a tropical locale. It had long been a dream of my heart and visually it was every bit the dream I imagined. The sun shone bright in a nearly cloudless sky, the water sparkled a beautiful turquoise and the tall skinny palm trees swayed gently in a light breeze fragranced with the scent of vanilla growing nearby. It was just perfect!

One balmy evening, while lazily looking up from our perfectly placed hammock at the abundant supply of coconuts in the trees, we noticed large metal bands wrapped high up their trunks. “Why do you think they put those ugly bands on the trees?” I wondered aloud. “To keep the rats from eating all the fruit,” responded a resort employee standing nearby.

Rats? In paradise? Climbing up the ethereal palm trees holding my magic hammock??

That’s not a dream; it’s a nightmare!

And then it hit me: Every dream comes with challenges you don’t see.

My tropical vacation was indeed fulfilling dreams that had been in my heart but it came with more than I had envisioned; more amazing things than I anticipated and some garbage I couldn’t have expected. The less than stellar stuff diminished the brilliance of the dream in my mind, but it’s ability to take away the power of the blessings received lay only in my attitude and whether or not I was going to take the good with the bad and be thankful for God’s beauty in my life.

Whether your dream is the perfect vacay, building a strong family, changing your community through business or ministering to the needy in faraway exotic places, it will come with more than what you’ve imagined. Keep your heart focused on God and the dreams He has given you. This will strengthen you to live with a sense of purpose and to enjoy the blessings He is pouring out…even if there are rats!