Episode 54
54 | Is Your Purpose Just a Dream? How to Turn It Into Reality
Have you ever laid awake at night wondering if your purpose will always stay a dream?
Does it feel just close enough to see… but still out of reach?
Have you caught yourself asking, Will this ever become real for me?
Those late-night thoughts that creep in — the doubt, the uncertainty — I’ve been there. In today’s conversation, we’re diving into why purpose can feel distant when you’re discerning God’s plan, and what may actually be happening beneath the surface.
If you’ve been wrestling with doubt, struggling to trust in God, or wondering why your heart feels unsettled when you think about your purpose, this episode is for you. I’m sharing what may really be going on when a dream feels far away — and the shift that changes how you see it.
Grab the laundry, pop in your earbuds, and let’s walk through this together.
I pray that this episode blesses and encourages you!
Michelle
✨ Next Steps:
- Join the Facebook community — Here
- Subscribe to the weekly The Inner Flame — Here
- Take "What is my God-Given purpose: Where to Begin?" quiz — Here
- Book a 1:1 Discernment Coaching Session — Here
✨ Email: hello@michellebrannam.com
✨ Website: https://MichelleBrannam.com
✨ Listen to Related Episodes:
- 07 | What Do You Seek? A Conversation with Jesus about Your Purpose
- 12 | When Doubt Creeps In: Staying Rooted in Your Purpose
- 18 | You Were Meant for More: Breaking Through Self-Doubt to Discover Your Purpose
🕊️ Scripture Mentioned:
- John 14:1
- John 14:13–14
Bible Translation Used: All Scripture is quoted from the Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition (RSV-2CE), The Great Adventure Catholic Bible, © Ascension Press. Used with permission.
Transcript
That dream that's stirring in your heart that you can feel, that is the Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:He's inviting you to seek the purpose that you were created for.
Speaker A:So don't dismiss it.
Speaker A:Have you ever wondered if your purpose will always feel just like a dream and why it still feels just so far out of reach?
Speaker A:I know what it's like to want to live your purpose, but it just feels like it's just outside of your grasp.
Speaker A:In this episode, we're going to talk about why that thought keep surfacing and the first step to turn that dream into something real.
Speaker A:If you're ready for this to feel real, let's do this.
Speaker A:If you're tired of feeling unsure about your purpose because you don't know how to hear God clearly and you want simple, faith rooted steps to discern his will and move forward with confidence, you're in the right place.
Speaker A:I'm Michelle, a cradle Catholic mom of three and a discernment mentor for Catholic women.
Speaker A:I learned how to move from confusion and overthinking to hearing God's voice clearly and moving forward with confidence in his will.
Speaker A:If you're ready to grow closer to God, discover how God uniquely made you and experience mindset transformation.
Speaker A:Grab that laundry, pop in those earbuds and let's go.
Speaker A:You want to discover your purpose, but you're in a busy season of motherhood and adding one more thing to your schedule just feels overwhelming.
Speaker A:I get it.
Speaker A:That's why in my one to one discernment coaching sessions, they are designed to work within your current season, not against you.
Speaker A:In our time together, we'll meet right where you are.
Speaker A:We'll look at what's keeping you stuck, clarify what God may be asking of you, and show you how to start discerning his plan step by step.
Speaker A: , focused plan that fits into: Speaker A:In just one hour, you'll walk away with clarity, direction and a step by step plan to begin discerning God's will for you without feeling overwhelmed.
Speaker A:If you're ready to stop spinning, start moving forward.
Speaker A:Book your session@michellebrandum.com coaching the link is also in the episode description as well.
Speaker A:All right, let's dive in.
Speaker A:When I was trying to uncover my purpose, I was praying, journaling, doing the work to discern what God created me for.
Speaker A:But doubt just would creep in now.
Speaker A:Not loudly, just quietly.
Speaker A:And I remember thinking about taking all the right steps.
Speaker A:What if this is just going to stay a Dream that question.
Speaker A:It hit harder than I expected because I wasn't avoiding the work.
Speaker A:I was doing the work.
Speaker A:And still I wondered, will this ever actually become real for me?
Speaker A:Will I truly find what God created me for?
Speaker A:And I find myself imagining what it would feel like just to wake up, aligned, peaceful, confident that I was living what he designed specifically for me.
Speaker A:And then I'd think, why would God place His desire in my heart if it wasn't meant for something more?
Speaker A:I know that ache, that late night wondering, that quiet fear that maybe it's only meant to stay in your imagination.
Speaker A:As I was praying to God and asking him what he wanted me to share next, this just kept coming back to my heart.
Speaker A:And it showed up again in the daily readings.
Speaker A:So I know this message is for you.
Speaker A:So let's talk about how to take this dream and turn it into reality.
Speaker A:If you ever lay there wondering if this will always just stay a dream, if you've ever questioned whether that ache in your heart, if it means anything, if that's where you are right now, wondering if this will ever become real.
Speaker A:What if that desire is actually an invitation from God?
Speaker A:When I was in that exact place, I was trying to figure out what that ache meant.
Speaker A:I read something that stopped me and I had to reread it again.
Speaker A:In a Catholic study plan from Father Mike Couth, he wrote, we will feel a tug to become what we're meant to be.
Speaker A:And that tug, that sense that you're meant for, it's your soul desiring a deeper relationship with him.
Speaker A:It's your soul longing to align with that purpose that he created you for.
Speaker A:That dream that's stirring in your heart, that you can feel, that is the Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:He's inviting you to seek the purpose that you were created for.
Speaker A:So don't dismiss it.
Speaker A:Hold on to that dream, because it will become a reality.
Speaker A:I've been where you are, and I can tell you it doesn't have to stay a dream.
Speaker A:When that fear starts to rise up, remember what Jesus says in John 14.
Speaker A:One, let not your hearts be troubled, but believe in God.
Speaker A:Believe also in me.
Speaker A:So when your heart starts to feel troubled, when you're wondering if this will ever become real, Jesus doesn't tell you to figure it out.
Speaker A:He tells you to believe.
Speaker A:And later in that same chapter, in verses 13, 14, he says, whatever you ask in My name, I will do it.
Speaker A:That the Father may be glorified.
Speaker A:So go to Him.
Speaker A:Tell him what's on your heart.
Speaker A:Tell him your desire to live, your purpose that he created you for.
Speaker A:And if you want help with this conversation, then go listen to episode seven, what do youo A Conversation with Jesus about yout Purpose.
Speaker A:It's a guided prayer time to help you bring this directly to Him.
Speaker A:Because God, he wants good for your life.
Speaker A:Now, even though we know that it can still feel like it's just a dream, because there is something inside you that is holding it back, holding this thought that this is just a dream and it can never be reality.
Speaker A:That is because it's our past experiences, the people around us, the things that have happened, that shape our beliefs.
Speaker A:Some beliefs, they give us hope.
Speaker A:And then some beliefs, they quietly derail us from our hope.
Speaker A:When that belief came up for me, where I just felt like it was just a dream and I wanted it to become a reality, I spent time in prayer, talking with Jesus.
Speaker A:So one night during my nightly prayer routine, I was standing before Jesus.
Speaker A:I was bowing my head, giving him the reverence.
Speaker A:And suddenly this thought surfaced.
Speaker A:I'm not worthy.
Speaker A:And it hit me like lightning.
Speaker A:That belief had been sitting underneath everything.
Speaker A:It was not the lack of action and it was not the lack of desire.
Speaker A:It was a story that I was telling myself.
Speaker A:But that wasn't the truth.
Speaker A:It was just a story.
Speaker A:In 1 John, chapter 3:16, it says by this that we may know love, that he laid down his life for us.
Speaker A:So Jesus came and he died for us.
Speaker A:He loves you so much that he chose the most excruciating, painful death.
Speaker A:He knew what our life would look like.
Speaker A:He knew what the plans he had for us.
Speaker A:He knew if we would drift.
Speaker A:And he still chose you.
Speaker A:He still chose me.
Speaker A:He chose to lay down his life for you.
Speaker A:So no matter what story you're telling yourself, look to Jesus.
Speaker A:Turn to Jesus.
Speaker A:He selfishly gave Himself for you.
Speaker A:He endured humiliation, suffering, and death for you and for me.
Speaker A:He did it because our Father loves you so much that he gave his only Son to you and to me and to the rest of the world.
Speaker A:And now maybe your belief isn't I'm not worthy.
Speaker A:Maybe it's.
Speaker A:Why would he do this for me?
Speaker A:Maybe this isn't really possible for me.
Speaker A:What belief, what story are you telling yourself that is just keeping this as a dream?
Speaker A:Because you can change that dream once you identify it and identifying it, that's the first step towards turning that dream into reality.
Speaker A:Now, if this conversation stirred something inside you, if you know that there's a desire there, but you're just not sure what the next step is, you don't have to figure this out alone.
Speaker A:Inside a one to one discernment coaching session, we'll look at where you are, what you've tried, and what might be holding you back.
Speaker A:We'll gently uncover those breadcrumbs that God has already placed in your life and we'll create a simple, clear next step that fits your busy mom season.
Speaker A:This isn't about force and clarity, it's about discerning it with God.
Speaker A:So if you're ready to move this from a dream to something you're actively walking towards, I'd love to walk with you.
Speaker A:Grab your session@michellebranum.com coaching just to recap on what we've talked about today, that desire in your heart, it's not random and it may be the Holy Spirit who's tugging you towards an alignment.
Speaker A:Bring your dream directly to Jesus and ask him boldly what he created you for.
Speaker A:And if this still feels like a dream, ask what belief that's keeping this just as a dream.
Speaker A:Let us take this to prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Lord Jesus, you place dreams and desires inside our hearts for reason.
Speaker A:There is a tug within us.
Speaker A:Help us to trust that it comes from you.
Speaker A:Reveal any belief or story we are carrying that is not for you.
Speaker A:Replace fear with truth.
Speaker A:Replace doubt with hope.
Speaker A:Give us courage to take the next small steps towards that purpose that you created us for.
Speaker A:Not for our glory, but for yours.
Speaker A:We trust that you are leading us in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Now let's take this from head to heart.
Speaker A:Knowing that truth is powerful, but that real change comes when we act.
Speaker A:Just one small step at a time.
Speaker A:So grab your journal and ask yourself this week, what belief, what story are you telling yourself that is keeping this as just a dream?
Speaker A:Write it down, bring it to prayer, and if you'd like support as you uncover it, please come inside our Facebook community Finding youg Purpose, Discernment and Strategy for Catholic Moms.
Speaker A:I'd love to help you replace that belief with the truth.
Speaker A:Remember, my beautiful sister in Christ that God uniquely created you for a unique purpose.
Speaker A:You were made to do great things.
Speaker A:God is within you and you will not fail.
Speaker A:I look forward to continuing this journey with you.
Speaker A:I'll meet you next Tuesday for another conversation.
Speaker A:Until then, may God bless you and bring you peace.
Speaker A:I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
Speaker A:If so, take 30 seconds to share it with a friend who's feeling unsure about her purpose and wants simple, faith filled steps to discern God's will.
Speaker A:And if you've learned something today, please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts.
Speaker A:It lights me up to know that this show is helping you.
Speaker A:Okay, time to tackle the laundry and unload the dishwasher.
Speaker A:Gotta go.
Speaker A:I'll see you next Tuesday for another conversation.
