Nightmares and Praises

I recently had a horrible dream. It was the night before a new treatment started and over a series of very odd events in which scenes were short, intense, and highly charged. In very quick succession I experienced paralyzingly fear, violent rage, crushing grief, and generally amounts of confusion. And then the strangest thing happened.

In the final part of the dream, there were dozens of people in hospital gowns awaiting radiation treatment. With each patient there were one or two family members or friends. Then we were in some sort of assembly. I was by myself, barely aware of what was happening as I was totally depleted and hopeless. And then one man began to sing a song of worship.

As the song began I wasn’t really aware of it, and the crowd began to join in. Then I found myself quietly joining in with a harmony line. As we sang I felt my spirit return, lifting me back up, and calming my emotional wounds. The worship reached a huge climax with the same man leading.

In the silence, I began to sing a simple prayer of hope. The very act of the worship had led me back to hope.

I often have very vivid memories of my dreams, and this day was no exception. The events and images from the first part of the dream continued over the next couple days, and yet as much as they were disturbing to me, the hope remained. This can be the power of worship and prayer in our real lives as well, and for that I am profoundly grateful to God!

The Beauty in a Drainage Ditch

Ditches are constructed to drain water from the land, especially during or immediately after times of heavy rain or melting snow.  Ditches are the things into which drivers sometimes drive or swerve and then need to be towed out of them. 

 

We don’t generally think much about the ditches alongside our roads.  We certainly don’t want to end up in them with our cars.  They tend to be somewhat filled up with trash which once it has blown down into them remains stuck there and gets water-logged.  When we have roadside clean-ups the main focus is clearing this refuse away.  For one thing it is unsightly, but it is also a danger to the functioning of the ditch as it may block the passage of water causing back-ups in the system.

 

If I sent you off to find examples of spring-time beauty, I doubt you would head straight for the ditch along your road.  But just as there are awesome and beautiful things happening in a world full of sin, hate, and war, there is beauty in our ditches.  In our neighbourhood it is one of the first areas to have really green grass which is a spirit lifting sight after months of snow.  No matter how much garbage may be thrown into your life, seek out the beauty and revel in it! 

 

photos were taken in the drainage ditches in my subdivision on April 29, 2011