From Legos to Dreams to Reality

Over a decade ago Legos were my passion. The ability to build whatever I wanted allowed my creativity to captivate my mindset. As a child I knew creating was my thing. I loved to paint, to draw, to build. Spaceships made out of boxes were always a favorite pastime. When inside that box, I was in another universe, another dimension. While boxes were fun, legos were the creative sandbox. Parents might not be very appreciative of legos, due to the mess that normally follows, and the pain they bring when accidentally stepped on. Kids love legos. Especially me. Most kids tend to build spacecrafts, cars, trucks, and castles. I never really enjoyed LEGO sets. Instructions were lame and it took away my creativity. I just wanted legos without directions. What did I build? Mostly buildings and tall skyscrapers. Hotels, resorts, and condominiums were the creations I mostly found myself intrigued by. Why? I think it has to do with the fact that I grew up downtown in Toronto Canada where I was surrounded by buildings and structures of beauty. This captivated me and I knew I wanted to build my own. Another reason? God was planting dreams inside of me that I would one day come see into fruition.

Dreams are a beautiful thing. It’s a very real and tangible emotion and passion that enlightens our goals and agendas. Dreams have been my motivation and the fire inside that has pushed me forward through life. As a child I dreamed throughout the day, through school, while walking down the streets of Toronto, while laying in bed and listening to the cars drive by, and while building with my legos. Today nothing has changed. I dream the same. All day, everyday. I hope you do the same. Why? Because life without dreams is simply boring. When you have something to look forward to, the desire to progress and succeed is so much more relevant and pressing. I also do not believe the dreams I have are crafted out of pure randomness and imagination. I believe God has planted seeds of dreams that are beginning to flourish and are now in the introductory period of greatness.

While thinking about dreams and dreamers I think about characters in the Bible. What is great about the Bible is that many of the characters are very similar to you and me. Normalcy is a common denominator between characters of the Bible and you and I. Except with the exception of Jesus Himself. I think we can all agree that there was nothing normal with Jesus. What I find quite interesting however, many characters of the Bible were more normal than us. They were less equipped than us. They were worse off than us. Knew less than us. Had less than us. What I find quite unique is that these characters were able to achieve pure greatness when they had one key component. Jesus.

David was a dreamer. We see in his early life God gave him the dream of greatness. I don’t know about you but if I stepped in a battle with the strongest and biggest man on earth I would hope I had some kind of dream, some kind of vision of victory. It is easy for the scenarios to run vigorously throughout our minds. If I was David the scenario of defeat would be the leading scene. Luckily for David, God had a dream of greatness instilled in him. A dream of victory that once played within his mind, there was no other option. There was no other route. It was fight or flight. Many don’t ever talk about it but I find it intriguing how David grabbed 5 stones. FIVE. First of all, I would be running around every village possible looking for the largest sword I could find. Second, I would be searching for my crew because I’m going to need backup. Third, I would be searching for as many exit points as possible. I’m laughing as I type this but I have not been more serious about anything. I love the Bible because these stories are absolutely ridiculous which. reminds me how ridiculously incredible my God is.

So David chose 5 stones. Not sure what his selection process was or why 5. I would have had a whole bucket but he choose just 5 smooth stones. The part I love the most about the story of David and Goliath is the part that I think gets overlooked the most. The story would have been incredible if Goliath was knocked out on the last fifth stone. The story would have been amazing if Goliath was taken out on the third or forth swing. The story would have been remarkable if Goliath was killed on the second throw. What blows me away the most is that the first swing, the first throw, the first try lead David to victory. Mind blown. Mic dropped. My God is better than yours (unless we share the same God). High five if you share the same God as me. Listen. Many of you reading this have been facing a Goliath in your life. You have your stones selected and ready. Many of you are looking for exit points such as myself. Dear reader please know that God is waiting for you to throw your stone at your Giant. I guarantee your giant falls at the first throw. How can I say that so confidently? Because God is not a plan B guy. He is only plan A. There is only one reason your giant might stay undefeated after you throw your first stone. You are throwing your stone at the wrong giant.

While you search for a bigger weapon, an exit point, or backup, God is waiting for you to throw the first stone. I’m sure you will be amazed when the Giant falls the first try. I’m sure David was amazed but part of me pictures David walking up to Goliath on the ground as though he knew it was going to play out like that the whole time. Confidence had to be a key component in the young personality of David. With that being said, David had to have doubts. Who wouldn’t? He had 4 back up stones just incase the first stone did not work. Yet part of me believes David had the faith in the first stone the whole time. I believe that is one of the reasons David became victorious. We carry these backup stones in life. We fall into the backup relationships, the backup jobs, the backup schools, the backup careers, the backup friendships and the backup dreams. God does not do backups so why do we keep carrying 5 stones? I simply think it’s because of fear, doubt, low self value and worth, and more fear. I think it would say a lot if we only carried one stone to battle against our giants in life. I think it would speak volumes into our faith. I believe God would see our obedience and our confidence in Him which would push us forward to greatness.

This ridiculous story of David is just the introduction to the life of a young believer and follower of Christ that made mistakes along the way through the journey we all call life. We read about David fighting a lion and a bear on separate occasions. We see David come into great wealth and even greater responsibility. We see David struggle with lust and greed. David went far in life but Goliath was never the only giant he conquered. I see great significance in that alone. While David conquered the physical giant of Goliath, there were so many more giants David did not see or realize were in his path distant in the upcoming years of his life. God was preparing David to conquer the giants by showing him he could conquer Goliath. It was a God size dream in a God created man who would end up becoming the man after God’s own heart. Goliath was a stage, the introduction, to a much larger and greater story. It was the building the block, the dream to greatness.

As a child building skyscrapers with legos, I knew I wanted to change the world. I knew I wanted to make an impact. I knew I wanted to be in business. I believe dreams change and are altered yet they never vanish. The underlined theme never fades. David contributed to conquer giants throughout his life but they were always slightly different than Goliath. As I have grown my dreams have shifted yet remained the same in form. Today I am a Hotel Operations Supervisor in a Casino and Resort. The child building resorts and hotels with legos is now a part of running one. Isaac that is a silly comparison. Is it really though? God instills dreams in our hearts and when those dreams come we sometimes are reluctant to give Him the credit. I have made it a point in my life where I not only give Him the credit, but I thank Him for the dreams He has given me, has answered, and continues to push towards greatness. Like David with Goliath, I am in the introductory phase of my dream. I am so excited to see it unfold. The picture of the building made out of legos was made by me about a decade ago. I just found it in my closet. I took it out and put it on my dresser to remind myself that my dreams are in progress. We are all still in progress. What are you building with your legos? What dreams is God planting in you? What Goliath are you facing in order to defeat the giants that are upcoming? I pray you find the answers to these questions if you have not yet already. May God pull you through the progress to greatness. May you walk to battle with just one stone to show God how much faith and trust you have in Him. May God richly bless you and may your dreams become reality.

Sincerely, Isaac Demers