There are seasons when a dream feels alive—full of movement, possibility, and purpose. Then there are seasons when that same vision grows quiet, and you begin to wonder if what you believed was a calling was perhaps only preparation for something else.
Lately, I have been having second thoughts about the mobile coffee van vision.
What once felt like an open door now seems to be narrowing. Interest appears limited. The partner I had hoped would walk this road with me has changed her mind and no longer wants to participate. The van we thought we had access to is no longer an option. And if I am honest, trying to carry something this large alone feels overwhelming.
The goal was never just coffee.
The goal was always the mission behind it—to use proceeds to help fund a Christ-centered community center… a place where people could gather, find belonging, have honest conversations, study Scripture, and encounter grace.
That was the dream.
But it is becoming increasingly apparent that obtaining outside funding or support may not be part of the path God has chosen—at least not now.
I have tried to move this forward in many ways:
A GoFundMe campaign — $0 raised.
Sponsor donation requests — no sponsors.
Building a website.
Launching a music platform.
Starting YouTube channels.
Developing a coffee line (still too new to judge fairly).
And yet, despite all the effort, there seems to be very little outside interest in helping this move forward.
There is a quiet sadness in admitting that.
Not because the dream itself was wrong, but because sometimes we confuse resistance with failure, when it may simply be redirection.
Scripture reminds me:
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” — Proverbs 16:9
I planned.
I pushed.
I built.
I knocked.
But the Lord establishes the steps.
Sometimes closed doors are not rejection. Sometimes they are protection.
Sometimes God allows our plans to empty out so our hands are open enough to receive something better.
I think of Abraham, called out without knowing the destination.
I think of David, anointed king long before he wore a crown.
I think of Paul, whose plans were repeatedly altered by the Spirit.
Even their “delays” were not wasted.
Perhaps this season is not about building a van at all.
Perhaps it is about building faith.
Jesus said:
“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” — John 12:24
Some visions may need to die in their current form before they can bear fruit in another.
That is hard to accept.
There is sorrow in laying something down you have prayed over.
There is disappointment in realizing you may not have the resources to carry a calling in the way you imagined.
And yet there is peace in surrender.
Because surrender says:
“Lord, if this was from You, You can resurrect it.”
“Lord, if this was my ambition, refine it.”
“Lord, if there is another path, lead me.”
So for now, I am leaving this in God’s hands.
Not in defeat.
In trust.
If this community center is meant to happen, God will have to build it.
If this mobile coffee mission is meant to rise again, He will have to provide the van, the partners, the funding, and the open doors.
Because I can no longer force what only God can sustain.
As Psalm 127:1 says:
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”
Maybe my calling in this season is simpler than I thought.
Maybe it is daily devotionals.
Daily prayers.
Faithful sowing.
Writing for the one person who needs encouragement today.
Brewing coffee as ministry in smaller ways.
Trusting that hidden seeds still grow underground.
God has not asked me to make the harvest happen.
Only to remain faithful.
And perhaps that is where I must return.
To pray.
To write.
To wait.
To leave it all in His hands.
Because sometimes the holiest thing we can do with a dream is place it on the altar and say—
“Your will be done.”
💭 Reflection
Have you been holding onto a vision that seems to be slipping away? Before assuming it has failed, ask whether God may be refining, redirecting, or simply asking you to trust Him more deeply. A closed door is not always the end of a calling.
🙏 Prayer
Lord, when plans unravel and dreams grow quiet, give me peace to trust You. Help me release what I cannot carry and place every vision at Your feet. If this dream is from You, breathe life into it in Your time. If You are leading me another way, give me courage to follow. Teach me to be faithful in small things while I wait for You to move. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
IN Christ
Jeffrey Trester
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