Nebulous thoughts in the mornings that cannot be pierced, don’t bode well. When they linger through the day – you feel like you’re in trouble! One questions am I doing something wrong? It starts to affect your whole outlook for the day.
I was having one of those days, except it wasn’t just one day it was a few. Facing a rather demanding physical task which I wasn’t sure I was ready for added to the dread I felt. I inwardly, with some outward exhalation of air cried out to the Holy Spirit to help. I actually began to enjoy myself as I focussed on the task. Not knowing quite how to approach the job made that focus more intent.
I often have a conversation over the fence with the neighbouring gardener when at this particular place. We rarely talk about the work but this time it was a pleasant change to do so. Later he came over and asked what I was thinking on? What has been blessing me? He picked up my hesitation and kindly said “If you don’t have anything it’s ok!” No I thought… I said “Actually, I’m in a fog and I can’t seem to see through it”. He grimaced sympathetically. I then shared some of my waking thoughts. One in particular was about embracing the situation that I’m in and not trying to run from it or trying to work it out.
I continued and shared how I was thinking about my latest dream which was about seeing things from different perspectives. We talked for a few more minutes and he shared something from the Bible and I added some other verses which had struck me. I went away strangely uplifted and continued to think about the specific verses I had shared. The day got so much better! There was a definite lifting of my spirit. I think the fact that we shared and listened to each other did something to us.
I’d also shared something that I’d heard the previous day which I was considering:
“Holiness is not a process; It is a sacrifice”
Brian Orme on the ‘Live your best life’ podcast with Liz Wright
The test came the next morning waking up. What was I going to think? I’ve been thinking about what truth is or how I like to think – who truth is! The line from John 8:32 came to my mind.
‘and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’.
LEB
I’m going to look that up I thought and promptly dozed off to sleep and had this dream. It confirmed to me what I’d been thinking about. It was profound and has made me realise I need to be watchful again regarding my thoughts.
I was looking after a big house. The striking bit is I went outside and there were kids playing everywhere who I recognised from my time teaching. Someone had let them in and they were playing everywhere leaving dirt, messing up and so forth.
There was a young child who looked when I first saw him, about 18 months old. He was lying on the ground in a rubbish bag, all covered in soil and was slowly being buried. I took charge and said some strong authoratative words to the children. Something like “No one gave you permission to be in this garden. You all need to stop what you’re doing and leave”, which they did.
I was looking around at the mayhem and was thinking I need to put something on that gate, like a lock. I saw a neighbour who is a nanny, from down the road coming to get some of the kids. I was then asking those who were left who the child was that had been left all alone. One of the older kids called Joshua, went to get the kid. He had been their responsibility and they’d been shirking their responsibility. In the mean time the kid lying down had aged to about 9 or 10 years old. I know this as I followed the alleged carer of the child. They picked him up. He had grown to be a special kid. He had a label on him.
I then looked at the time as everyone seemed to be all ordered and heading off to school. I looked at the time. It said 1.25 on my analogue watch. I thought that can’t be right and rushed into the house to see the time and realise at the same time my watch had stopped. It was actually just after 8.
When I arrived the house there was a guy in a toilet cubicle cleaning the toilet floor with his feet and with his back to me. He had muddied the floor and he was trying to clean it. He was ashamed. I continued what I was doing but watched him. He then went and washed his hands and shot off not acknowledging me. I think I was looking for my clothes. The dream faded.
As I came out of the dream I realised it was about me taking charge over my thoughts. The house represents my mind. By the power of the Holy Spirit I began to do this. I recognised the children, they were the uncontrolled thoughts which I had let linger and not taken charge of. I had initially spent time at the beginning of my day, in weakness getting hold of Holy Spirit’s help. The day started in a mind fog but I persisted and looked at some scriptures to focus my mind.
Having a conversation with the other gardener must have jolted me back to the reality of recognising being in Christ. The confession of the words of scripture had expressed some faith.
As I thought through the dream I realised that it was about me taking authority over the gateway of my thoughts. I had let in, you could say, some spirits of mischief. These were represented by the children.
Old proverb (paraphrase of Martin Luther):
‘You can’t stop birds flying over your head but you can stop them nesting in your hair’.
‘…bring every thought captive…’
2 Corinthians 10.5
The child I looked at on the ground was me. I also needed to take charge over this child who had been left unattended and so commanded a child called Joshua to do so. By the time I saw him and commanding Joshua, the child had grown up. Joshua means he saves just like Jesus’ Hebrew name Yeshua. By calling on Joshua I had shown I was calling on Jesus to take charge. The development of the child represents the fact that I am maturing, like all God’s sons and daughters are. Each one special in His eyes.
In the dream a neighbour comes to take charge of the children. In real life she’s a nanny, someone who takes care of children. Pondering that little cameo put me in mind of the Holy Spirit who is involved with us in taking charge of thoughts.
The significance of the time was that it had appeared to stand still initially. I felt I had not gone anywhere in my thinking until this change took place. Seeing order return out of the chaos caused the time to start moving again. It was time to move on and put the past behind.
Often in a dream the main theme is repeated. The part where the guy is cleaning the toilet floor with his feet is like this. One of my favourite words at the moment says it well recapitulation. The scene was recapitulating the earlier scenes. The new me was looking on at the old me. I was ready to put on my new clothes.
But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard about him, and you were taught by him (just as truth is in Jesus), that you take off, according to your former way of life, the old man, who is being destroyed according to deceitful desires, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man (in accordance with God), who is created in righteousness and holiness from the truth. Eph 4:20-24 LEB