WARNING WRAPPED IN A DREAM

Dreaming is my favorite pastime while sleeping!  Seems like a silly thing to say, but it’s true.  Some folks dream in black and white, but I dream in full technicolor!  Four and a half years ago, after many years of chronic illness with an incurable lung disease and Sjogren’s Auto Immune Disorder, I overdosed on Valium.  By a miracle of God I was found in my home, and resuscitated at the hospital.  After seven days in the hospital I returned home to recover fully from double pneumonia, and to go through the painful process of withdrawal from benzodiazepines.  Fifteen years of using Valium prescribed by a psychiatrist for a panic disorder had done me no favors.  For three months I was bedridden, and the sickest I’ve ever been in my life.  So it may sound astounding to say I was also the closest to God I’ve ever been during those three months, but it’s the truth.  God’s presence was palpable in my bedroom!  What a joyous time of fellowship I had with my Lord during this time of healing.  And God gave me a warning in a powerful dream!

My dreams took on incredible significance while recovering, but one dream in particular shook me to my core.  I found myself walking through an old barn with huge double doors at both ends.  To my surprise no animals were housed in this barn.  Rather, it was filled with row after row of vintage costumes and hats from many different periods of American history.   My mother and father (both Depression Era survivors) spent their adult years collecting many different things.  In my dream this barn housed just one of many collections, and it was breath taking.  Neither of my parents could care for this collection so I was given the opportunity to pick out anything I wanted for myself.  I was unaware there were others who’d also been given the honor of selecting items.  

I had my own small collection of costumes and hats, but nothing as all inclusive as this collection.  With eyes wide I slowly walked between the shelves which seemed to climb to the roof of the barn filled with these elaborate and beautiful items of clothing and accessories.  I let my hands pass over one velvet dress after another, admiring the lavish detailing, embroidery and frills adorning every piece.  The hats, gloves, ladies fans, and parasols begged for my attention as well.  Which should I take, and which should I leave behind?  So many wonderful choices!  A joyous problem to have.  I couldn’t have been happier at that moment. 

An hour or more went by when I noticed smoke filling the ceiling of the barn and quickly dropping down to eye level.  Somewhere in this ancient building a fire had broken out.  It had to be a big fire to fill the barn with thick smoke so quickly.  That’s when I noticed other people were as engrossed in selecting costumes as I was.  Immediately I ran from section to section shouting at people to leave immediately.  This barn was so old I knew it would go up in flames quickly.  There was not a moment to waste in getting these people out of the blazing barn.  

When the last person was safely out I ran back into the barn to see for certain there was no one still inside.  But I became mesmerized once again by these pieces of antiquity.  I must save this feathered hat, that brocade dress, this cameo broach, that pair of sequined pumps . . . Feverish behavior enveloped me.  One thing after another drew my attention, and blinded me to the imminent danger I was putting myself in.  

I heard the sound of the massive doors at the one entrance being slammed shut.  No one had seen me run back into the burning barn so the crowd decided it was best to seal the doors shut.  I panicked as I finally noticed the smoke at ground level and how little visibility was left to escape.  I took one last look of longing at the treasures about to go up in smoke and flames.  With all the lung power in me I took a deep breath from ground level, blindly running for the last doors at the other end of the barn.  Would I make it before they closed the doors?  I slammed into the last open door which was only open by a slim crack.  I mustered all my strength and squeezed through that tiny opening.  Gasping for fresh air I fell to the ground once I was a safe distance from the now blazing building.  

Horrified at how close I had come to loosing my life because of the overwhelming desire for material things, I was astounded at my self destructive choice to go back into that inferno.  I awoke from that vivid dream with a clear warning from God.  Material things could easily be my downfall.  God showed me if I release the desire for things I will live a long life.  Ignore this warning at my peril.  I look at possessions very differently now.  I am reminded daily of the scriptural mandate to not put your trust in things that moth and rust can destroy.  Focus on acquiring eternal rewards in heaven that cannot be lost.

What is in YOUR life that might be keeping you from focusing on "things" instead of on "things of God"?