How to Handle Dream Smashers

"Whoah. Someone's been hitting the candy a little too hard."
- One of my middle-school students, after eyeing my pregnant belly

I'm sixteen weeks pregnant and I've only gained four pounds (thank you, morning sickness). Tell me, then, why I look like I've swallowed a small house. This phenomenon recently led to the above comment... which led me to laugh so hard I thought I would upchuck the said small house.

In the eyes of my student, I'd simply increased my calories. That is what leads to getting fat, right?

Wouldn't life be wonderful if the answer to everything was so black and white?

But life isn't black and white. There is always something more to someone's circumstance than can be immediately seen. Life is like a window pane -- you can look through someone else's glass, but you'll never get all the way inside. You'll never get the whole picture.

That's why other people make seemingly insensitive comments about your writing. When they ask why you don't have a book contract yet, it's probably because they've never been through the effort to build an audience, draw an editor's attention, and survive at least three editorial meetings at a publishing house. To them, you wrote a book -- you're pregnant with purpose -- your belly has swollen.

So where's the baby?

Babies take time. Just like dreams. So next time someone misunderstands your dream, feel free to pull back the curtain -- just a little -- and share your heart.

Or you could just let others accuse you of hitting the candy a little too hard... It's up to you.

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B.J. Hamrick writes for teens and for you at Real Teen Faith.


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