Is Sacrifice Always a Bad Thing?

Why even busy grownups need dreams

It’s 6:02 am central time, and I’m exhausted.

I’m currently in the middle of “celebration season” for our family, which started about a month ago and lasts until approximately the beginning of January.

Here’s what I mean by “celebration season:” over the next four-ish months, we will be traveling, hosting people overnight, having parties, and celebrating like a million different things—with very minimal breaks (culminating in the birth of our second daughter and heading straight into postpartum/life with two kids).

It’s going to be so fun, and I’m truly so excited for each event we have planned.

But also,

it’s A. LOT.

All at once.

I do have to admit I’m probably trying to do too much right now (which I don’t recommend and usually am better at). But I’ve noticed something every time I’ve gotten overwhelmed over the past several weeks:

In trying to prioritize better, my first instinct has been to throw out my dreams.

“We shouldn’t have gone on that weekend babymoon. We should’ve known we don’t have the time.”

“I can’t write books. I can’t handle a release deadline with everything else I have to do. This dream doesn’t fit into our life.”

“We just can’t enjoy the rest of the summer as a family. We’ll just need to spend every weekend getting things done.”

“We don’t have time to make birthdays special this year.”

As adults, prioritizing our dreams alongside our full everyday lives is a big challenge. Of course, something always has to give. We’re always making some sort of sacrifice based on what we’re prioritizing in that season. But what I’m realizing is that as busy grownups with dreams, it’s often too easy for us to perpetually push our dreams aside, waiting for the day or season or year when we finally have the time and energy to bring them to life.

And then…

we never do.

In my book Dream On, I have a whole chapter dedicated to the art of intentional, healthy sacrifice. So I’m not arguing that we need to hustle and burn ourselves out and perpetually have too much on our plates. That’s not an effective or responsible way to steward our priorities and dreams.

But, I also know there needs to be another way.

We need to recognize that our dreams aren’t frivolous or optional—they’re actually vital to our wellbeing and to the flourishing of everyone around us.

For me, making time for our kid-free anniversary trip a few weeks ago gave me the rest, connection, and fresh perspective I needed in order to steward everything I have in this season to the best of my ability.

Writing and releasing my book is growing me into someone who’s more confident, consistent, and true to my deepest values and desires.

Soaking up the rest of summer with our two-year-old will be something we reminisce about once she’s no longer small enough to crawl up in our laps.

Celebrating each of my family member’s birthdays this season with intention and care reminds them how important they are and brings us closer as a family.

These dreams deserve my time and attention; I just need to stop and recognize their importance.

Making magic for our daughter in the last days of summer💫

Yes, it’s going to take some intentionality, hard work, and sacrifice. But I’ve realized the benefits far outweigh the cost.

When we know what dreams we want to focus on in each season, though those dreams take work and intentionality, we can know they they are worth the extra time and effort because they fulfill something inside us and others that goes all the way back to the creation of humanity.

So will I stay up too late planning and building snowflakes and blowing up balloons for my daughter’s Frozen birthday party in a couple months? Probably. Because I know that a little extra work on my end will create magic memories for her. (Something I will sacrifice, though, is making it Pinterest-perfect because people-pleasing is a distraction and I don’t have time for that in my dreams! That’s a whole-nother post, but here’s your simple permission to focus on what really matters.)

Is there a dream you’ve been putting on the back-burner because you feel like it’s too unimportant or selfish to cultivate? How could your life change if you began to prioritize it like it was one of the things you were made for?

Book Updates

Speaking of sacrificing and prioritizing to bring dreams to life, my book Dream On becomes a reality in less than TWO weeks.

I'll be honest, this is always the scariest part of the dream-making process for me: when things are about to get *real.* It's so easy for me to exist in the world of ideals because there's no failure or disappointment in ideals.

But this is when I really need to practice what I preach in the book and cling to what really matters, regardless of the outcome. This process has grown me SO much, given me hope & life, and connected me even deeper to the Ultimate Author/Creator. And I hope this book can do the same for the people who read it, too. But either way, it's already worth it.

I hope you carve out some time to cultivate a dream this week. I promise, it’s worth it.

Sarah