Although John Lennon is talking about world peace, I interpret this one line to mean that everyone has something that they dream about no matter who they are. Eleanor Roosevelt once said "the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." Beauty is only what you perceive it to be; our dreams are only as good as what we dream them to be.
My ultimate dream is to be a traveling worship leader. I know, you're thinking then why are you going to school to be a music therapist? Let me explain:
First of all, I LOVE the Lord! He is my everything! All I want to do with my life is serve Him. I look up to women like Kari Jobe and JJ Heller who are currently living this dream. I would love to travel around the country and even the world leading others in worshipping our Creator. I want to be able to travel with my future spouse and a band if possible. If that's not what God wants then I'll do it by myself with His help. Economically, I would want to be able to provide for myself and a family but also be able to give to others. Socially, I would love to meet some of the musicians that I look up to and have a lot of connections in the music industry world. There would be so many new experiences to encounter and people to meet that share a common goal: to simply worship God in what they do! This lifestyle would be really exciting but not very fitting to raise a family in. It would also be kind of unhealthy considering all the traveling and lack of sleep, but the experience would be worth the lost hours of sleep!
Being a worship leader is my ultimate dream, but a more realistic dream underneath that dream would be to practice music therapy. Music therapy is an occupation that I would enjoy a lot. I would be able to minister to people's needs through music which is a perfect combination for me. I don't have a preference to where in the country I would do this, but hopefully it will be where I get an internship. I want to work with pain management and/or cancer patients. Again, economically I would like to be in a place where I could support myself and a family but be able to give to others. With this job, I would like to have all different types of patients but mostly ones that are dealing any kind of pain. The most difficult thing about being a music therapist is finding a place to work to begin with. Music therapy is a growing field, but many states have little education about it and therefore will not cover it with their state health insurance.
Right now, I am pursuing a degree in Music Therapy. All the music classes that are required for this program have made me a more diverse musician. When it comes to my worship leadership dream, I try to lead whenever an event arises. Also, the psychology classes within my degree program can help me learn how people interact with music. I used to lead my youth group praise band so that experience has helped. I'm actually looking into some leading opportunities now that I'm college as well. I'm also considering the possibly of doing both. I could practice music therapy during the school year and lead/ travel during the summer.
This is interesting, Lydia, and something I hadn't known before. The great thing about wanting to be a worship leader is that it can happen at any time, on any level. Perhaps it will become an exciting, travel-filled career, or perhaps it will be working with a handful of musicians at your home church every Sunday. And it's entirely possible to pursue that dream and be a music therapist at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing Lydia! I think it's totally possible for you to be a worship leader, and even if you can't travel the country you coulld always be a worship leader at your church. Plus, the music therapy thing is a great way to witness to people in need. Just keep praying and I'm sure that God will lead you where you need to go.
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