Dreams

On the nights my body has allowed sleep lately, I have had some wonderful, and some crazy, dreams.

My favorite dreams are those in which I'm confidently hiking or running or doing something physical without worry or experience of exhaustion or pain. I'd forgotten what it felt like, and I wonder if it will ever again become a reality for me.

My least favorite dreams are those in which I'm driving and my brakes don't work. I'm propelled forward into dangerous situations, occasionally dragging my family along with me. These dreams have haunted my nights lately, coming in all shapes and forms. Perhaps this signals how full-steam-ahead my life has become, and how I seem pushed through days without enough opportunity for meditation, contemplation,prayer, nor time to process all that I'm going through. And more than likely my fears about my family suffering due to my illnesses.

If there's one thing both types of dreams are telling me, it's that it is time to slow down; to breathe; to pray; to prepare; to dream. It's time to concentrate on my health, my family, my marriage, and my spiritual life.  

As Christmas approaches, different dreams surface during my waking hours...dreams of family time; laughter; love; peace; and the changes I need to make in my life to make these things happen. And so I clean, reorganize, and whittle down possessions to make room ... in our home, in our lives, in our hearts for what is to come. I free up space and time to concentrate on what's really important - family, friends, fun, and faith; room to center our lives in reflecting the light of a baby born to a young mother so long ago.

Thank you, God, for dreams that inform and those that propel us to make positive changes in our lives. Be with those who struggle with sleep, with nightmares, with waking lives that are more nightmare than sweet dream.