I am a very fortunate person. Why? It’s because I was able to escape from a horrible job and do some things that completely changed the direction of my life. In 2003, I failed to pass the senior high school entrance examination, and because my family was poor, I couldn’t afford to stay in school. As a result, I began working in a restaurant to help earn money for my family. However, my dream of going to college never left me, and I looked for every opportunity to continue my education.

My life in the restaurant was a “torturous” experience, and looking back, I can’t believe that I used to live that way. Doing the same things day after day was humiliating. I had to get up at 6am to open the restaurant, and what I did throughout the day was boring and meaningless. I washed dishes, served clients, and swept and moped the floors. My life then could only be described as “dirty” and “exhausting.” My self-esteem was at an all-time low, and it was increasingly difficult for me to take orders from those over me, especially when they were so mean and arrogant.

Furthermore, because of their unreasonable demands, I was often rebuked by my boss and demanding clients with bad tempers. When I first began working, I didn’t know how to butcher a chicken, and a cook came over to me, grabbed the chicken, and threw it down on the table shouting, “Get out of here, you stupid boy.” I immediately stood up with my fists tightly clinched ready to fight. But I just stood there with a heart filled with both rage and sadness.

Additionally, what made my job even harder to bear, was that I was put in charge of the take-out service. No matter how far away the client lived, my duty was to walk and deliver the heavy bags of food, often including ten or more dishes, to the destination which was sometimes over a mile away. As a result, I was usually exhausted when I returned to the restaurant. Sadly, other duties were waiting for me and I couldn’t stop to rest, even for a minute.

To make things even worse, I had to wait for the last client to leave so I could lock the door, and it was always between 1-2am. When I returned to my room, I was so exhausted that I had no time to think about my dream because I had to unlock the restaurant door again at 6am. I asked myself, “How did I lose my way?” and “Where did my dream go?” I knew that I couldn’t spend the rest of my life living like this, so I determined that I would not give up on my dream. I had to change the life that was making me so miserable.

After a year at this job, spring was coming, and with the help of my uncle, I went back to school again. I knew that it was my last opportunity to pursue my dream, and I knew I needed to exert all my energies to make it come true. From that moment on, I studied very hard, and fortunately, I succeeded in my efforts to enter senior high school. And then in my senior year, I passed the College Entrance Examination and entered the Shandong University of Science and Technology. And then, after four years of college, I entered Peking University with great pride and excitement.

Without a doubt, this was the most valuable experience of my life, and was also the turning point that changed the course of my life from physical and emotional exhaustion to the wonderful world of learning and discovery. I always share this story with anyone who is distracted or confused about life. In fact, I remind them of the proverb, “Nothing is too difficult if you put your heart into it.” I also tell them to never give up on their dreams, and to set it as a target in their heart and mind, and if they do, it will lead them in the right direction. I tell them about my experience that if you will just follow your dream, it will give you boundless energy and enthusiasm to one day achieve it. So, no matter how terrible your situation may be, never give up on your dream, and then take the right steps to achieve it.

Additional Comments – It’s important for all of us to have dreams. Of course, I’m not talking about those fleeting dreams that we have at night and usually can’t remember what they were about after we wake up, but the dreams we have for the future, dreams of who we can become, dreams of what God might accomplish through us. A dream is an expression of our greatest hopes and desires.

I believe that dreams, if properly directed, are akin to having a “calling” from God. There is a general calling for every follower of Jesus that they become more and more like Him in both character and conduct (Mt. 10:25). But beyond that, there is a distinct calling for each individual follower of Christ, and that calling becomes a confirmation in one’s soul about what God wants them to do in order to impact the world for righteousness.

Jesus knew His calling from the beginning. He said, “I have not come into the world to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45). He came to serve people, and that became evident as he healed the sick, the blind, and the lame, and spoke words of truth, comfort, and hope. And then at the end of His life, He gave Himself to ransom us from the penalty and power of sin. He also made sure that His followers also had a calling, and today we call it “The Great Commission.” He told them that they were to “…go into all the world and proclaim the good news of salvation to the entire world” (Mk. 16:15).

And then, when it was time for the gospel to go out to the Gentile nations, God spoke decisively to Saul and changed his calling from tracking down, capturing, and condemning Christians, to reaching the world for the sake of Christ. So radical was his conversion that he changed his name from Saul to Paul. Jesus called him to take the good news beyond Judea and into territories with populations dominated by Gentiles. It was Paul’s great desire “…to preach the gospel to those who have never heard the good news of Christ” (Rom. 15:20).

Maybe this is a good time for each of us to assess our dreams, and more specifically, our calling from God. He has given each of us gifts and talents to use for His honor and glory. If you have a heart to make a difference in this world for Christ, then begin to ask Him if there is a specific direction He wants you to take in order to accomplish that calling. There is no greater joy than to know that you are becoming the person that God wants you to be and pursuing those things that He wants you to accomplish. That assurance helps us to live intentionally, and living intentionally gives purpose and meaning to life.

Like my former student, identify your “dream” and never forget it. If you don’t have one, then ask God to give one to you. And if your dream is in line with God’s good purposes for the world, your dream will also become a “calling” that God will use to impact others for Christ. Then pursue it with all diligence. If you do, you will be richly blessed, and so will those whom you serve.