“Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2
In 1919, a young newspaper reporter was fired by his editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” In January, 1920, he formed a short-lived company with a fellow cartoonist. However, following a rough start, he left to earn money at the Kansas City Film Ad Company. He was soon joined by another friend, but they were unable to run their business alone.
Later, he acquired his own studio. Unfortunately, the profits of this studio were not enough to cover their employees’ salaries. The studio wound up bankrupt. After that, he decided to set up a studio in the center of the movie industry – Hollywood, California.
Next, he created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. This would become his first success in the cartooning business. However, he was only receiving a 20 percent cut on his films and was barely breaking even. He received another setback when his producer took over the character as well as his animation crew by negotiating independent contracts with them.
Still, this determined young man did not give up. He created a cartoon about a mouse that talked. He was rebuffed again and told this idea would not work since a huge mouse on the screen would scare women. It turns out that women and others did just fine with this mouse. Mickey Mouse is still on screens all over the world, even today. And his creator is none other than the entrepreneur, cartoonist, animator, voice actor, and film producer – Walt Disney.
God has created us all with dreams. Some of these dreams might work out naturally and easily. Others might be more like the dreams Walt Disney dreamed –those aspirations that might result in more “no’s” than “yeses,” more closed doors than invitations in. The uncertainty can wear us down and threaten to break us.
But when that happens to you, pray for wisdom and discernment. And remember, if God has planted the dream in your heart, He will show you the path to get there. After all, His Kingdom is infinitely better than the Magic Kingdom.
Watering the Seeds
Do you have a dream or goal that you feel called to do but don’t know how to do it?
As you pray for God’s discernment, in what ways are you listening for his response?
