I am not afraid. I was made for this. #BornToShine Hey, it's Abby! One time my biggest dream didn't come true. I was so crushed, I seriously wondered if I'd ever be able to dream again. I was so scared to get my hopes up again. But God slowly gave me the strength & wisdom I desperately needed to dream again. It's time you join me. Let's dream again! #BornToShine is all about finding our dreams & chasing them wholeheartedly. But that's always easier said than done! Chasing a dream is thrilling, but also very difficult to do! Personally, I think the hardest thing about having a dream is allowing yourself to actually GO for it. It can be really scary to invest... & work... & pray for something that’s not guaranteed. As much as we wish for certainty, we're just not going to get it most of the time. If all great things in life were guaranteed, they wouldn't be so special to achieve or attain! My favorite skater is Gracie Gold. #RealLifeElsa I've actually met her a couple times because she trained at the same facility as Rocco in LA! Talk about a celeb sighting! She was so nice & let me get a fan-girl pic with her. Haha. She's won the US Women's National Gold Medal 2 times & even won a Bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics! A couple days ago, I was watching a bunch of her past performances. I absolutely LOVE watching triumphant skates like hers! I've noticed that the general reaction when a skater nails their routine is to... 1. Strike their final pose 2. Start crying 3. Cover their face with their hands in shock 4. Wave their arms in the air like they just conquered the world I LOVE IT! It's just so sweet to see someone's dream come true before your very eyes. My favorite victory reaction of Gracie's was after her final skate at the 2016 US Nationals. She won two years before that but didn't snag the gold medal in 2015. I bet there were so many long days where she wondered if she would ever taste the sweetness of triumph like that again. She jumped up & down after her final score was announced at the 2016 competition, & it was really the picture of a dream come true! *As a pro hockey wife, I admit that I get overly attached to athlete's personal stories & triumphs... I can't help it! LOL* These skaters put their whole lives on the line (in so many ways!) to chase a dream. I think that's why their reactions are SO intense after they nail a routine. Their dream-defining moment definitely wasn't guaranteed. All they could do was give it their all (day after day for most of their life) & hope that they would eventually taste the sweetness of victory. This kind of risk makes the reward so much sweeter. It just means so much more at that point. Since so much can go wrong in a skate (or at a game, or in an audition, or during a test, or at a job interview, etc.), basically no dream is guaranteed. I'm convinced that this is why SO many of us are afraid to dream. "HONESTLY... What if I put YEARS of my life into a dream that NEVER comes true. How will I ever cope with that?" Let me just tell you: Been there, done that! You will survive. I promise. Numerous times I have invested my heart & SOUL into a dream I believed God placed in my heart because it was going to come true. Sometimes these dreams have come true. Other times they have not. In college, I spent several years preparing for my greatest dream to date at the time: becoming Miss North Dakota & competing at Miss America! I dreamt of what that crowning moment would feel like every day. I hoped & prayed. I created so many speeches for the groups I wanted to talk with. I practiced & prepared SO thoroughly for every area of competition. I spent my weekends developing my platform. I spent my free time at appearances. I thought through onstage questions & studied politics. I practiced doing my hair & makeup. I worked out & ate with my goals in full focus. Day after day, I joyfully & tirelessly chased this dream. I left no stone unturned in terms of preparation. I was ready. It was my sport, & I LOVED it! I won local titles, scholarships, competition categories, preliminary high scores, etc But the big dream... it never came true for me. It hit me like a pile of bricks. What a rough night. Ever been there? For a while I felt so confused. I was just so afraid to dream again. it was a lot to take in. Maybe you've had a conversation like this with God too: "Could I have been wrong about all of this?" God - No, it just seems like it. "Did You really allow me to work towards this... only to experience the absolute death of a dream? One that was deep within my soul?" God -Yes. This is how it needed to be. It's for the best. "Why, God? Why?" God -In time you'll see it wasn't all for waste, I promise. Trust me! And it wasn't. I knew it wouldn't be. I always knew God had my best interest at heart, I just had to get past that shock phase in order to MOVE FORWARD. As time passed by, I reflected on the reasons why God placed this dream in my spirit. I reached probably thousands of people as a titleholder. That's the most important thing. But on top of that, I did so much work on myself, my skills, my style, finding myself, etc. I also created #BornToShine Ministry in that time! That's just the short list. It took a while to get over that devastating loss of a dream, but ultimately I gained more from the process of chasing that dream than I ever lost by not seeing the dream come true. Listen to me: God doesn't waste anything! Don't be afraid to dream! Long story short, I believe that when we are walking closely with God, He places divine dreams inside of each of us - some that will come true & some that won’t. For the dreams that don’t come true: God will repurpose all the time & energy you’ve invested & give you something even more remarkable. Since that experience, I've refocused my energy & time toward doing... a lot more of what I was doing while preparing for pageants! Writing music, performing, writing, speaking, exercising, eating healthy, etc. I've learned to treat each prior experience in my life as a launching pad toward something greater in the future. I encourage you to do the same. Sometimes my present life seems so insignificant, but as soon as I start viewing my day-to-day life as a dress rehearsal for something greater, I feel so rejuvenated! Staying inspired is up to you, but I'm going to do everything in my power to help you out with that! Everyone needs a good pep talk, so that's what you can expect from these #BornToShine posts! To anyone hopeful that 2018 will be the year they finally realize a dream or even just see a glimmer of hope: Keep believing! Keep going! Victory (regardless of circumstance) is a choice we make every day. On days when I was moving forward past a shattered dream, I had to actively choose to live in victory - not defeat. So wherever you're at on your dream-chasing journey, let's get after it together! I wish I could sit down with each of you & hear about your biggest dreams. I would LOVE to cheer you on in 2018. Shoot me a comment or message if you’re on Team #BornToShine with me this year, & make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter & say HI. LOVE YOU GUYS! THANKS FOR READING! -Abby Grimaldi #BornToShine
5 Comments
Elissa Berg
1/10/2018 05:23:14 pm
This is an amazing post! Thank you for sharing what God taught you because He used it to speak to me! ❤️ I've had one particular dream shatter, and fear has held me back the last few years. Just in the last few weeks, I feel God telling me EXACTLY what you wrote in this article. I'm going to look to the future with hope and start dreaming again! Thank you so much!
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Connie Boyd
1/10/2018 11:04:17 pm
Beautifully written and so genuine. Keep writing you truly are inspiring❤️❤️
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Mama Sus
1/12/2018 10:39:29 pm
Abby - loved the blog! 💕🌸😇 Your transparency when sharing your personal experiences, struggles, failues, & successes are a wonderful encouragement & blessing to many! Keep shining☀️your beautiful light, Abba-Zaba! Love💗you!
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Shirley Kieffer
1/13/2018 12:56:09 pm
Abby you truly are one amazing young woman. I love to read of your dreams. You are one inspiring lady. You just keep shining and all those future dreams will have a bright light to share.
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Julia Kudrna
1/13/2018 06:28:05 pm
At times we find that our greatest losses, unfulfilled dreams and defeats are when we truly deepen our faith in God. You have been blessed with great wisdom at such a young age.
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AuthorChristian Singer-Songwriter, Writer, Hockey Wife, & Fitness Fanatic. Nomad with North Dakota roots. Archives
January 2020
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