We are back to school and it is a new season! At the moment in Southern CA we are experiencing a major heat wave with September temperatures sitting around 101-107 degrees! My teenage daughter and I are day-dreaming of crisp mornings, cozy clothing and everything pumpkin, but can’t seem to bring ourselves to live that out in this scorching heat!
It’s interesting how our bodies, minds, emotions, and nervous systems process change. This morning in my sleep I had a different kind of dream. This one didn’t have anything to do with pumpkins. I dreamt that we were moving. In the dream it was also my daughter’s birthday, and the house was full of people. (This first part was an actual scenario that happened almost exactly 7 years ago.)
But in this dream, during the party, the movers arrive! I look around the house and it isn’t ready for movers, we are in the middle of a party! Things are not all packed up. I completely panic because I am not ready!
So, in trying to figure out what the movers can start loading up, I ask them to start with our outdoor wood table. And as dreams go… in ways that don’t make sense to actual reality… I am frantically pulling out trash bags and asking everyone around me to start putting pillows in the trash bags. This is happening all while the movers begin to saw the table apart so that it could fit in the truck. (Apparently we had a small moving truck!)
As they cut the table apart hundreds of termites begin to fly in the air. I rush to close all of the doors so the insects don’t fly inside and I say “we aren’t going to want to take that table with insects to our new home, we need to leave it behind”.
I woke up from this dream and was wide awake. This is very unusual for me. First it is very unusual for me to generally remember a dream at all. Second, I rarely wake up in the morning wide awake. I am sleepy and don’t want to get out of my warm bed. I move slowly, and the aroma of coffee is usually the thing that helps move me to a place of clearer thinking.
As I laid there in bed wide awake I just said to God “ok, I am listening”. I didn’t clearly hear anything. But I did have this sort of peace. Like something was worked out in my dream.
I continued to sit with this through the morning. I thought about what that means to not bring something with you into a new place. Things that have to be left behind because although on the outside they look good and even beautiful, when cut open the inside reveals there are insects that are devouring and weakening the structure and turning it to dust.
To protect the new place where we are going, that thing (wood table in the case of my dream) that we once enjoyed and has so many wonderful memories attached, has to now be left behind.
So, in this back-to-school season, as Summer is ending and we are on the cusp of Fall, for me this ushers in a time of reflection. It is one of the two times of the year that really brings to the forefront of my mind, “where have I been, and where do I need to go?
Are there things that I need to remove from my life? How was this last year for my kids and what areas need greater care and attention?” In Psalm 25:4-5 it says “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow.Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.”
Today, in my dream it was revealed why I needed to let go and leave this table behind. But most times in real life, things are not that cut and dry. Most times, in the areas where we have choice, the decisions are much more complicated. The great news is that we have an all-knowing God that loves us and is for us. The greatest thing we can do is surrender, release and walk in obedience with faith in our Lord and Savior.
Dear friends, we are on mission together! I’m here to be transparent and honest….this life journey is hard, messy, and it is sometimes confusing. If you experience and feel those same things, please know you aren’t alone.
I pray you would be encouraged today! May God bless you!
Some action steps to consider for today:
- Keep your eyes on Jesus. Above all, we want our lives to be pleasing to Him.
- Seek the truth of His word through reading scripture.
- Prioritize your own and your families IN-PERSON relationships! Carve out that time for you and your family to be in fellowship with other believers. People who you can talk with, pray with, study scripture with, share a meal with, and enjoy time simply sharing life together.
- Ask the Lord to “show you the right path” and step out with courage and confidence as you continue to trust His will for your life.
