When was the last time you asked for what you really wanted? When was the last time you knew what you really needed and spoke up about it? For most of us, I suspect the answer to both questions is “Too long ago to remember.” We have gotten used to settling for what we know, for what we have always gotten, that we do not dare dream of asking for something more.

I read a story from Acts 3 this morning about a man who had been crippled his entire life and every single day somebody carried him to the gates of the temple in Jerusalem so that he could beg. First off, what kind of person just takes a crippled person and drops them off to beg every day, but that is not my point here. This was all this man had ever known. I guess his goal every day was to get enough from people that he could eat so that he could come back tomorrow and do it all again. And before we pity him too much…many of us do essentially the same thing!

On this particular day, Peter and John were heading into the temple for afternoon prayers when the man stopped them and asked for money. Of course, he asked for money, it was literally all that he knew to do, and he had no way of knowing who these men were and what they might be capable of.

And here the story takes a turn, because immediately something happens that probably was rare. They heard him and noticed him and stopped to engage with him. And Peter tells him that he doesn’t have any money, but he has something else for him. And he heals him right there on the spot.

If you are familiar with the Bible, you probably know this story. But I would encourage you to take another look at it and see where you find yourself in the story. It might surprise you!

Here are a couple of observations I had after spending some time with the story this morning. First, I wonder what happened to the man after the initial shock wore off. I mean he only had one skill, and that was asking people for money. I wonder what life was like for him the next day, the next week, the next year. Did he embrace the freedom of legs that worked for the first time? Or did he just walk himself back to his spot at the temple and keep begging?

Second, we are so often like this man. We go through the motions every day, hoping for just enough life to get us to the next day so we can do it again. And when given the chance to ask for what we really want, for what we really need, we simply fall back on what we have always known. How might our lives change if we spent the time doing the deep work of learning what we really need and then asked for it! What if we learned to voice these things to God, to our partners, our friends, our circles? And then, what if we could embrace that freedom and really learn to live into it every day.

In this time of change, that is my challenge to all of us. May we take the time to get in touch with what we truly want and most deeply need and may we find the courage to voice those things out oud. And may we learn to live in the freedom that can come when we refuse to settle for what we have always gotten. Dream big, my friends, and ask for what is truly on your heart. It might just change your life!