Words from a Dreamer

Call me a dreamer.  Call me a dreamer not because I have such great ideas that have the power to revolutionize every day life, but because I dream a lot.  My nights are filled with dreams.  Some are so ridden with anxiety and stress that I will wake myself up to get out of the dream and some end long before I want them to end.  I was on the verge of winning a marathon race a few nights ago, but the excitement was too much and I woke up.    

As a dreamer I have always been drawn to the dream narratives found in the Scripture.  The epic Old Testament dream has always been Jacob's dream at Bethel (Genesis 28) and in the New Testament the dream of all dreams is surely the dream of Joseph in the early verses of Matthew's gospel.  Over the years I have spent a lot of time trying to figure one dream or another and in the process have learned a bit about what stirs within us in those moments when we are sleeping.  The one thing I learned early on which was not needed was a book which listed the signs found in our dreaming.  I have come to believe that we all have our own book.  There is not a one size fits all.    

More importantly, I have come to believe that dreams are a means through which God speaks to us.  If the story of Joseph reveals nothing else, it surely reveals this truth.  And, secondly, it seems our dreams are expressions of the struggles and joys experienced when we are awake.  No one can doubt this was happening with Joseph.  And, finally, if we are learning to pay attention to our dream life, we will find a word in our sub-conscious which informs our conscious mind as decisions are being made.  Dreams are a gift from God that open a door to our inner self and as such they are surely a blessing given to us from God.