I
was just thinking about ...
“I
have a dream.” From these four words spring memories of a man following a
dream; and also the memories of a man cut down in life before the dream became a
reality. No, I’m not going to immortalize the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
today. Nor is this about race relations, although that would be a good one. But
his dream and, more important, his willingness to follow that dream has got the
cogs and wheels whirring in my mind this week. Kim starts worrying when she sees
the smoke pouring out from between my ears. That could signify a bad day at the
church or that I’ve got an idea or that I’ve had way too much caffeine; any
one of which can make life interesting. But rest assured, today it’s just an
idea.
Dreams
can be so weird. Have you ever had one that you’re not sure you’re awake
from? I mean, it’s hard to distinguish where the dream left off and reality
took over. Let me give you an example. I woke up one morning to hear my sweet,
lovely wife utter a few words that made sure I was awake. “I’m so mad at
you!” Now luckily, Kim is a gentle spirit that wouldn’t hurt a fly. Whoa,
wait a minute, I’ve seen her on a fly hunt and that look on her face when she
finally gets him … I turned over slowly to see her staring intently at me. (No
flyswatter in sight, whew, good!) “Hmmm, what’d you say, hon?”
As it
turns out, she had just been awakened from a dream in which I had done something
to make her extremely mad. And when she woke up, she was still angry with me.
“What did I do to make you so mad?” As these words slipped past my lips, I
realized I had just ventured out into the lion’s den. Maybe something she
dreamed would remind her of something I really had done. “You fool, don’t
say another word; let the lions sleep,” I thought to myself! She couldn’t
remember what it was. She only remembers it was so bad, her anger was able to
make the jump from dream state to consciousness. Some dreams are like that, they
just stay with you and you can’t shake them; even if they don’t make sense.
In the Bible, dreams were commonly linked to God interacting with humans
and calling them to action. But today, this view of dreams is considered
remotely possible at best. Hey, we’re more informed and better educated than
those Bible people, right? Dreams are nothing more than a way for the mind to
deal with the issues we face in conscious life; merely symptoms of emotional
wrangling. Come on, you know I’m right. Say you meet a friend for a cup of
coffee and this friend ends up wearing more coffee than went past the lips. You
know it’s been a rough night. So you ask what’s up and they tell you that
God had given them a disturbing/confusing message in a dream. Wouldn’t you
first suggest they lower their voice before someone overhears and calls in
professionals, and then second, try to help them understand what “real-life”
issues are invading their sleep and depriving them of rest? Yeah you would, face
it. Hey, I probably would and I’m the one writing this piece. That’s because
we live in rational times of analysis paralysis. We don’t dare make a move
without examining all possible outcomes and the probabilities associated with each.
Dreams
don’t allow for that. They defy measurement and cost analysis. Inside of each
water-colored dream is a network of bends, twists and intersections that
complicates the journey. We stumble along through the shadowy regions where one
is forced to crawl along and feel the way out. Dreams confuse us and intrigue
us. They scare us silly and thrill us beyond explanation. Though each step is
taken with fear and trembling, a dream will constantly call to us, beckoning us
to move ever forward into the mists of the unknown. No wonder God uses them so
much. Yes, I still believe that God uses dreams and the subconscious to bring us
to those places God wants us to be.
Don’t
get me wrong. Yes I do believe that most dreams are, well, just that, dreams.
But there may be a time coming when a dream will not allow you to move on. God
is patient and persistent. Remember Samuel while he was sleeping in the
sanctuary by the Altar of God? God spoke to him four times before the connection
was made; and only then with the help of a priest. So relax and enjoy your
dreams, some are really fun. But if one gets to you, don’t ignore it. Pray
about it, compare it to scripture, seek out a pastor or priest or even talk with
a trusted and spiritually mature friend. And in the mean time, sweet dreams.
Drop
on by anytime, I'll be here and so will God,
Dennis