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Dreams do come true
Dreams sound so ethereal, so mysterious sometimes, as if they are this far-off thing that we hope “happen” to us. I’ve got a new definition of dreams: determination, hard work, deprivation, and grueling hope. Attractive, isn’t it? 
About a month ago I was having dreams every night about running. Now don’t get all psychoanalytical on me now. But I’d wake up initially happy because in the dreams I was running with pure joy … but then I’d realize that it was only a dream because about the only thing running around me is the coffee pot. It’s not like I ever really was a runner. A few years back I taught myself to run while preparing for a triathlon. It was hard work. I didn’t keep up with running after the triathlon, but I have to say, I’ve always missed it. It’s not that my running is particularly glorious. Rather, it’s that feeling of being able to run for the sheer hell of it (see previous descriptors of running and you will see that that word is completely appropriate). Plus, in moderation, it’s good for me.
So back to dreams … when I kept dreaming about running, at first I thought it was some deep psychological issue that was expressing itself in my subconscious, then I thought maybe it was some kind of spiritual message from God. But never did I think it was a dream that was supposed to be worked out literally. But since I wasn’t getting anywhere with the first two interpretations, I figured I’d slip on my sneakers and go out for a run. Turns out I am still an inglorious runner, but I gotta say that the bit of joy I’d felt in my dreams was right there with me as my knee throbbed, my lungs ached, and my perseverance waned. The joy was right there simultaneous with all those things.
Though not dressed up in hieroglyphics or delivered by angels, my dream was in fact a message from God:
“Run. It gives you joy.”
In what ways have you been called to move on a dream? What are you learning about God from the experience?
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{ 3 comments }
so glad to hear you find joy in running, my friend.
does it mean anything that almost all my actual sleeping dreams are about death and dying lately?
i have an interesting deal here. i write, right? and i almost strictly wrote straight nonfiction for the first 15 years of writing for publication, newspaper and magazine articles. but i dreamed of writing my life story and i did, and i started publishing creative nonfiction, which i love, but which will also probably cause my family to kill me and secretly bury me in the back yard someday. and then i wanted to write fiction, but i couldn’t figure out how. and one night… i dreamed an entire plot for a novel. and then another came the next week, followed by a third. god had to have handed these to me. i am not that creative. and so, while i write creative nonfiction to scrape by, i’m working on fiction in my other time. can’t wait to feel the joy from that. but writing always brings me joy.
What Dreams May Come…true?
When I was little, I dreamed of being a teacher…and, by the grace of God I have been teaching for a little over eight years now. I’ve always been a pretty good student, and had aspirations to pursue more knowldege and understanding, and I completed my Master’s in 2008 as well as have participated and facilitated many workshops in my field. And as I can’t say that I’ve always “dreamed” of entering religious life, I can say that the call has been very present on my heart and will hopefully be able to move forward on that this coming year.
Many factors have contributed to being able to acheive these dreams…faith…hope…mentors…parents…friends…teachers…colleagues…administrators…dedication…..perserverence when times get more difficult…and the joy in knowing the dreams have been realized…
(why does this sound a bit like a commencement speech?)
I’ve dreamed of being in journalism and broadcast since I was really little, but always put it on the back burner to get into teaching. I’m graduating soon, and had a substitute teacher ask a few weeks ago what I was going to do with my life. I blurted out broadcast, and never expected to hear that come out of my mouth. God moved me to where I needed to be, and to the person who could tell me about an amazing school specifically for broadcast. I know that it was God’s way of telling me “Stop worrying! Go for it!”