Dreaming

I have always had very vivid dreams when I sleep. There were a couple of recurring nightmares that I had as a kid ... those really bugged me. In fact, they were so upsetting that I can actually still recall the details.

The first was a funeral in a deep forest for a cousin of mine. I remember walking through the trees to get to the site and there was an immense hole already prepared for the coffin. Now, there were twenty-three of us cousins and I have no idea which one had died - at that time we were all still alive and making lots of noise. But, I was filled with utter terror as I faced that empty hole, scared that I was going to fall in and never be able to come back out.

The second was of me on an icy, hilly street. I couldn't get any kind of grip under my feet to make it up the hill. Every time I would get up part way, I'd slip and slide all the way back down to the bottom of the hill.

I just prayed to wake up out of those dreams.

As I began reading, my dreams got more and more entertaining. I've chased bad guys through warehouses as a detective, flown space ships, done all sorts of wild things in my dreams. They are generally quite fun and I enjoy my REM sleep.

This morning I woke up, took the dog out and then fell back asleep when we were finished with the 5 am potty break. I had to drag myself up out of a dream that began to freak me out. I loved the way it began. Max had taken me to Insty-Prints to go help out with something and as we were standing outside, an immense cloud settled in the sky. All of a sudden there were lots and lots of planes that were heading for that cloud. I knew they were our planes. But, they had funky clouds surrounding them. Max told me (like he knew) that they were mosquitos - attack helicopters. Ok ... this is cool. I gotta watch!

I didn't get to watch, we ended up inside the building - which had changed radically since I last owned the place. There were tunnels leading to my office, there was water in the tunnels ... it was odd, I don't know what was going on.

But, I came back up because a friend and his two little girls were there and as I looked over, I saw that my friend had been required to hang a man for some hideous crime he had committed. My friend was upset, all of us were understanding - it had to be done. But, then crowds began to gather and we knew this was going to be difficult to explain, but it had to happen.

I pulled myself out of that dream and I have to admit that I have been contemplative all day long because of this. I didn't stay asleep long enough to force myself to fix the dream or even explain it. I just had to get out of it.

I remember in high school having a dream about a friend of mine who absolutely thrashed me verbally and quite publicly. When I got to school that day I could barely speak to her. I knew that it had all been a dream, but my emotions were so caught up in the experience, I couldn't release them.

Is there a purpose to this blog about dreaming?

You know ... there are two other dreams that have meant more to me than anything else. Two nights when I KNEW that my dreams were more than just my brain processing on the day. In both of those dreams, God spoke clearly to me, assuring me that He was active in my life.

He gave me those dreams when I was absolutely panicked as a young girl about what my future would hold and whether or not I would be able to walk in His will. Both times, the dreams came after I had done some serious praying about what He wanted from me. The answers He gave me were general enough that it didn't feel as if there were a neon sign hanging there with an arrow saying "Go this way," but what I needed from Him was the knowledge that He would guide me.

I might have actually preferred the neon sign, but I'm pretty certain I would have rebelled against it and gone the other way - that's who I am.

In a little bit, I'm going to let the dog out one more time and curl up under the covers with her. I'll read until my eyes droop, then I'll turn out the light and fall asleep. Whether I hear from God or just process weird information in my brain ... I always look forward to my dreams.