My New Blog

May and June are the most popular months for brides and we began the season with a bang viewing the "Royal Wedding."  It used to be that Hope Chests were traditional gifts from mothers to daughters in the days when young women brought household dowries with them when they married.  Hope chests contained bed linens, quilts, table linens, crockery, flatware, and dreams of domestic bliss.

I had my own Lane Hope Chest when I first married, but you don't hear much about them today.  However, a true "hope chest" or "dream box" can be used for any reason and can help keep any dream alive. 

After living in Pennsylvania for almost 50 years, my dream was to live in Florida near Disney World and to have a modest southern home with a pool. I developed my own "dream box" and for almost 5 years would look for little southern lifestyle items to put in that box that would one day share my new home.  It was fun to look for things while shopping or on vacations that would fit in nicely to a Florida style home. 

A decade ago, my dream came true, not exactly the way I expected or planned, but all of those things I collected in my dream box are indeed in my Florida home.  When I look at them, it is a gentle reminder of all the frustrations, heartache, impatience, and longing I endured to be where I am today.

Not every one of our desires can be immediately gratified. We've got to learn to wait patiently for our dreams to come true, especially on the path we have chosen. But while we wait, we need to prepare symbolically a place for our hopes and dreams.  And the very first thing that should go into a hope chest or a dream box is "faith."