Friday Five: Dreams

Sophia, a revgalblogpal, posted this Friday Five”

With the beginning of my college teaching semester I have been having some unusually intense and memorable dreams lately--especially related to my Women and Religion class. With the beginning of a new calendar year many of us are engaging with dreams of another kind: planning, brainstorming, setting intentions or resolutions, etc. And many churches will celebrate the baptism of Jesus this Sunday, reading the Gospel account of his vision of the Holy Spirit as a dove and the "beloved child" words of Godde that set him off on his mission sharing Godde's dream for the world. So let's take a few minutes on this (where I am at least) lovely snow-blanketed Friday morning and share about the many different dreams and visions in our lives.

1. Do you tend to daydream?

Of course I day dream! How can I be a preacher, a rev., a pastor without dreaming? No matter our faith, faith is about dreaming. The Prophets certainly dreamed. It is part of the hope mechanism of my life. Unlike Ezekiel, I don’t dream of a New Jerusalem, but I do dream of a time when things will be better. God will be in charge. There will be peace on earth. How could I preach otherwise?

2. Do you usually remember your night dreams? Do you find them symbolic and meaningful or just quirky?

I am not so good about night dreams. For years I had dreams, but would wake up in a sweat but could not recall anything. After a good bit of therapy, I remember some of my dreams. But on the whole I do not remember many of them. The may be intense when I wake up but they fade fairly soon after waking up. I figure that they are my subconscious working something out and I go on about my way.

3. Have you ever had a life changing dream which you'll never forget?

As a young person I had a dream that I would get out of the world of ignorance and racism that seemed to pervade my home. It wasn’t so much my family’s ignorance but the environment that seemed to permeate the society that I lived in and with which our neighbors, schools and community were content. I was determined to go to college even though I was not really a good student. I was not going to be stuck with the typical teacher-secretary-nurse options that were available to women in my day. That dream changed my life. I did get out. But now I am contemplating going back to that world as a missionary.

4. Share a long term dream for one or more aspects of your life and work.

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5. Share a dream for 2010....How can we support you in prayer on both the short and long term dreams?

I guess I have always dreamed of retirement since I started working in my teens. Now that it is facing me, I am not sure what my dream is. I love what I do. I love being pastor-priest. I love my congregation. I can’t see stopping that. I need to move. My landlord is being a jerk. I think he wants to sell the house. Prayers, please.