{"id":53,"date":"2002-03-01T18:16:28","date_gmt":"2002-03-02T00:16:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=53"},"modified":"2012-04-23T18:18:15","modified_gmt":"2012-04-23T23:18:15","slug":"upstream-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=53","title":{"rendered":"Upstream Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cFor the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.\u201d Luke 19:10<\/em><\/p>\n

Summer before last, I vacationed in the Texas hill country with some friends. We spent one day of our trip floating in big, black inner tubes on the Guadalupe River. It was great fun on a hot summer day to laze in the sun while the cold, swimming-pool clear river pulled our little caravan of inner tubes gently downstream. We were well equipped with sodas and snacks and sunscreen. The kids had diving masks so they could check out the fish and plants on the bottom.<\/p>\n

Then a bad thing happened: Jacob lost his mask. He put on a brave face, but of course not having a mask was a serious monkey wrench in the afternoon. We made up our minds to find it.<\/p>\n

We looked and looked, all of us. We kicked upstream, face down on our inner tubes, to the last spot he remembered having it, then we drifted downstream to the place where he realized it was missing, all the while scanning the grass and rocks that covered the river bottom. It was hard to see past the sunlight reflecting on the water\u2019s surface. We repeated the pattern two or three times. No mask.<\/p>\n

Stick with me now. I\u2019m working toward a point.<\/p>\n

We paddled to the bank to discuss the situation. On a previous vacation with the same friends, I\u2019d succeeded in finding an earring that had fallen five stories from the condominium balcony to the sand dune below. That long-shot victory spurred me on. I borrowed Suzann\u2019s mask and got serious. I ditched the inner tube and began to swim a grid up and down the fifty or so yards of river between the two points.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the thing: The Holy Spirit began to nudge my spirit that day and in the days that followed. The little scenario with Jacob\u2019s mask had spiritual significance. The Spirit was speaking to me through these circumstances in the same way He speaks through dreams. It became a metaphor, a parable from the Lord to me.<\/p>\n

The significance was this: Giving up was not an acceptable option because I knew the mask was there. It wasn\u2019t an iffy thing. The mask was definitely in the river, definitely in the vicinity we were searching.<\/p>\n

Jesus came to seek and to save not only people\u2019s souls, but their destinies as well. Those destinies are the reason and purpose for which each of us was born in Christ. According to Psalm 37:4, they are our dreams\u2014our deepest desires. According to Ephesians 2:10, they are good works for us to walk in, which God ordained before we were ever born in Adam.<\/p>\n

You, me, every single one of us who is born of the Spirit was appointed from the womb of the morning to do something great\u2014something beyond human capacity or ability\u2014to manifest the wisdom and power of God in our world. All we have to do is find that purpose, that dream, that power. Find it like treasure hidden in a field. Like a pearl of great price.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s there. Don\u2019t let yourself doubt that it is definitely there. Seek it with all your heart and you will find it.<\/p>\n

I know. I found the mask.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cFor the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.\u201d Luke 19:10 Summer before last, I vacationed in the Texas hill country with some friends. We spent one day of our trip floating in … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Mo02-R","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":95,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=95","url_meta":{"origin":53,"position":0},"title":"In Defense of Childlike Faith","author":"lsimonds","date":"June 1, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cYou cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life\u2026\u201d Matthew 6:24-25 Some years back I vacationed in San Antonio with the pre-teen children of friends. We had a good time. We spent one day at Seaworld. Another at Fiesta Texas. We floated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2003"","block_context":{"text":"2003","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":73,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=73","url_meta":{"origin":53,"position":1},"title":"Just Live By Faith","author":"lsimonds","date":"November 1, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThese all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.\u201d Hebrews 11:13 The other day I was talking with a friend about a loved one who had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2002"","block_context":{"text":"2002","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":829,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=829","url_meta":{"origin":53,"position":2},"title":"Love The One You’re With","author":"lsimonds","date":"March 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Tribe. n.\u00a0a group of persons having a common character, occupation, or interest \"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.\" Romans 12:18 ESV I recently enjoyed the company of a three year old for\u00a0a few days\u2014the daughter of good friends. She lives in another town,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2017"","block_context":{"text":"2017","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":316,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=316","url_meta":{"origin":53,"position":3},"title":"On Tangles and Tenacity","author":"lsimonds","date":"October 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cTo execute on them the written judgment \u2013 this honor have all His saints.\u201d Psalm 149:9 There have been a couple of time the Holy Spirit spoke to me through a situation. I wrote about one in March 2002 (see Upstream Dream). Another happened several years later. Some friends and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2013"","block_context":{"text":"2013","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":419,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=419","url_meta":{"origin":53,"position":4},"title":"Flood Abatement","author":"lsimonds","date":"October 31, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cSo shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.\u201d Isaiah 59:19 In 1997 the spring melt swelled the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2014"","block_context":{"text":"2014","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=11"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1578,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=1578","url_meta":{"origin":53,"position":5},"title":"Nativity with a Capital N","author":"lsimonds","date":"December 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,And deep darkness the people;But the\u00a0Lord\u00a0will arise over you,And His glory will be seen upon you.The\u00a0Gentiles shall come to your light,And kings to the brightness of your rising.Isaiah 60:2-3 About a year ago, I was having my hair done, watching the young people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2020"","block_context":{"text":"2020","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=20"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53\/revisions\/55"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}