August 27, 2009

Dreamer

I have dreams.

Not the kind of dreams where I’m playing catch or taking batting practice with the Royals. Not the kind of dreams where I’m riding my own brand new bicycle. Not the kind of dreams where I’m a best-selling and sought after author. But dreams that change me.

Most mornings, I remember my dreams from the previous night. The vast majority of my dreams are simple concoctions and combinations of what I read before bed, what I watched before bed, and whatever song I last sang.

But some aren’t.

A couple of months ago, on the annual church leadership retreat, I took a nap. I love naps. I think they should be mandatory. One hour for lunch. One hour for nap. During this particular nap, I had two dreams. The first dream was about a friend who was also on the retreat. I simply dreamed that she would catch a fish. The retreat was at a cabin on the lake, and in the eight years I’ve attended, I have only caught one fish. The same afternoon I caught my fish, Megan (my friend) caught a fish easily twice as big. In the dream, Megan caught a very big fish. When I awoke, I told Megan that I was done fishing for the retreat, because she was the one who was going to catch a big fish.

Late that night, I was leading worship on the dock, and Megan was fishing. At the conclusion of the third song, she caught a huge fish! It was quite exciting. We captured the moment on her cell phone.

But I think that dream and series of events occurred to get me to pay attention to the second dream.

The second dream was a vision of a family-style restaurant, fair trade store, safe place for youth, food pantry, and clothes closet. I wrote down everything I could remember from the dream and now I’m just waiting. I think that it will be a reality, some time in the not-so-distant future. So I sit with this dream and wonder, What the heck am I supposed to do now?

I recently had another dream. It was of a friend from college. She was in Africa, adopting a little girl. The little girl was in a simple yet beautiful dress, and had a smile that could light up a room. When I woke up, I felt I needed to email my friend and let her know about the dream. So I did. And she simply responded, “Not cool, Ethan.”

Huh.

She later replied, “Oh, I’m glad you told me—it just messes with me something fierce!”

I’m in the process of redesigning my business card. I’m thinking about putting “Dreamer” on there as part of my calling.

I just hope I don’t get sent to Egypt.



1 comment:

Libzsonshine said...

Hey E! I am a dreamer too and I LOVE the idea of you putting it on your biz card!

Keep on dreamin'!!

Big hugs!
Libby