Don’t Let Fear Put Your Dreams to Sleep

During the grand opening celebration for the Obama Presidential Center, Stevie Wonder said something that made me pause: “Don’t let fear put your dreams to sleep.” Now that is powerful all by itself, because Stevie Wonder has a way of saying things that sound simple until they start knocking around in your spirit. But what made it sit with me even longer was the story around it. He talked about meeting Barack Obama back in 2004, before Barack Obama became President Obama. Before the title. Before the history books. Before the world had proof of what was already possible.

That is the part that got me. Because it is one thing to believe in a dream after everybody else can see it. It is another thing to protect a dream when it is still small, quiet, uncertain, and easy to talk yourself out of. A lot of us know what it feels like to carry something in our heart that does not have evidence yet. No applause. No results. No big sign from heaven with flashing lights and a tracking number. Just a tug. Just a thought. Just that little “what if” that keeps tapping you on the shoulder while you are trying to be practical.

And fear knows how to show up in those moments. Fear does not always arrive loud and dramatic. Sometimes fear comes dressed like wisdom. It says, “Wait until you know more.” It says, “Maybe this is not the right time.” It says, “What if nobody cares?” It says, “What if you mess this up?” And my personal favorite, because apparently I love a research rabbit hole with snacks, it says, “You should study this a little longer before you start.”

Now, let me be clear. Planning is good. Research is good. Being wise is good. I am not telling anybody to throw common sense in the junk drawer next to the batteries that may or may not work. But sometimes we call it preparation when really we are just giving fear a more respectable outfit. Sometimes we keep sharpening the pencil because we are scared to write the sentence. Sometimes we keep organizing the supplies because starting would mean facing the possibility that this thing actually matters to us.

That is what Stevie’s words stirred up for me. Some dreams are not dead. They are just asleep. And maybe failure did not put them there. Maybe fear did. Maybe life got heavy, and the dream got quiet. Maybe taking care of others, grief, bills, responsibilities, business, family, exhaustion, or starting over made you put the dream down “just for a little while.” Then a little while turned into months. Months turned into years. And eventually, you stopped mentioning it because wanting it started to feel too vulnerable.

I understand that. There are seasons where dreaming can feel almost rude. Like, “Ma’am, do you not see this calendar? Do you not see these responsibilities? Do you not see this laundry forming a legal committee?” Life can make survival feel like the only assignment. But I am learning that being practical does not mean we have to become dreamless. It may mean the dream needs a smaller first step, a slower pace, or a more tender timeline, but it does not always mean the dream is over.

The part that keeps coming back to me is that Barack Obama was not President Obama in 2004. He was still becoming. Still walking toward something the world had not fully seen yet. And that is where many of us are with certain parts of our lives. We are not at the finished chapter. We are not standing in the grand opening moment. We are not looking at the ribbon cut, the speech given, the thing built, the prayers answered, the dream standing tall in the sunlight. We are in the earlier part, the quieter part, the part where fear tries to sound convincing.

But fear does not get to be the final voice. Fear may ride along sometimes, because we are human, but it does not get to drive. It does not get to tuck our dreams in, turn off the light, and whisper, “Stay there.” Some fears are trying to protect us from embarrassment, disappointment, or change. But some fears are also trying to keep us from growth, obedience, creativity, healing, and the next version of who God is shaping us to become.

Maybe this week is not about waking the whole dream up at once. Maybe it is not about making a grand announcement, buying all of the things, building a website, changing your bio, and declaring a new era before the coffee even cools. Maybe this week is simply about one brave movement. Write the idea down again. Pray about it again. Open the notebook. Make the call. Sketch the design. Take the class. Ask the question. Try for thirty minutes. Let the dream know you still hear it.

Small steps count. Quiet courage counts. Beginning again counts. And sometimes the first brave step is admitting, “I still want this.” That can feel tender, especially when life has taught you to keep your expectations low so disappointment does not have far to fall. But hope is not foolish just because fear is loud. A dream does not have to be public to matter. It does not have to make money to matter. It does not have to impress anybody to matter. Some dreams are sacred because they are connected to who you are becoming.

So this week, I am carrying Stevie’s words with me: “Don’t let fear put your dreams to sleep.” Not because I suddenly have everything figured out. Not because I have stopped overthinking. Please. My overthinking still has office hours. But because I do not want fear to be the reason I stop listening to what God keeps nudging me toward. I do not want to confuse caution with calling it quits. I do not want to look back and realize the dream was not gone; I just let fear keep the lights off.

If there is something in you that still stirs when nobody else is watching, maybe that is worth paying attention to. Maybe the dream is not demanding that you run. Maybe it is just asking you to wake it gently and take one faithful step.

Take this into the week:
Choose one dream, idea, or goal you have been avoiding and take one small step toward it this week. Not the whole plan. Just one step.

Coffee Chat Question:
What dream have you been letting fear keep too quiet?

Until next Sunday...

From my coffee cup to yours… enjoy the rest of your coffee, carry a little grace into the week, and I'll meet you back here next Sunday.

– Renee 🤍
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