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dream on...


I have been having rather vivid dreams lately and though I don't take them quite as literally as I used to, nor order my life decisions around them, I do think that sometimes they give me a good gauge of where I am at in my journey of learning. Sometimes they can also provide a solution or clarity on some issue that has been eluding me in my waking moments (just like one can sometimes solve a problem or remember a detail by taking a break and thinking about something unrelated).

In one of my dreams I was confronted with strangers who had come into my home and rearranged my furniture and had given some of my belongings away and were generally making themselves at home without any consideration for whose home it was. I questioned them on their identity and why they were in my home and quickly and firmly, but kindly, let them know that they were to put everything back as they found it and return anything they had disposed of. I then explained that I was a generous person and was happy to share my home with people who asked to stay with us, but since they had not made this request, the guest rooms were already spoken for and I would have to turn them away. I was amazed at my decisive and authoritative manner in the dream, setting things in order and placing the squatters under my authority instead of letting them usurp it.

I do have a tendency to let forceful people take advantage of me sometimes because I am very mild mannered, but I am learning that in the areas that God has placed into my care, I need to stand firm and take responsibility for their well-being. It also clarified for me the line between where I have the authority to change things and where I do not. Today I realised another key part to this is motivation. Being open and accepting and making people feel welcome is a noble thing, but an inadequate and rather weak motivation, I am finding out. A much higher and godly (and therefore more effective) motivation is to pursue the things God is doing, protect the working of the Spirit, and point people in the direction of maturing in Jesus. I welcome Jesus into my home and work and relationships first, and trust him to show me how to deal with each individual and situation that I encounter.

This is Smuggler's Cove near Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

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