"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit. "And I will give portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.” (Joel 2:28-32)
I find myself now classified officially as “old man”, for I have dreamed a dream. It was so vivid that upon waking, it was as if I had lived it. I tried in recent hours to attribute the occurrence to a medicinal fog brought on by a Tylenol taken, as I had tried to shake the remnants of a cold. But it seemed more. . . so very real. It was memorable. I seldom remember dreams.
The dream began that I was sitting at the home of a sister in Christ. My wife and I had eaten there as was our occasional holiday custom. For some reason I began to leave alone. But instead of driving my Chevy pickup, I backed my friend’s Ford pickup out of the driveway. At the bottom of the driveway the truck would not stop. It kept backing down the highway. I jammed on the brakes. I shifted gears. I tried to engage 4WD. But all efforts were fruitless. I was left only able to keep the vehicle on the road as it continued to slide backward. Eventually the vehicle stopped miles away, in the parking lot of a large white factory, one that truly does not exist in the country town of my real world..
Fearing driving the vehicle back up the hill, I dreamt that I went into the building and was told the phone was on the top floor. I went up the spiral stairway and asked to use the phone to call and tell everyone that all was okay.
After attempting to call, and failing, I returned to the desk and the secretary said the charge was $8 for the call. I complained belligerently, and said that I would be telling my Lutheran congregation of the rip off. I paid the money from the $22 dollars in my pocket, out of all the remnant that I had.
Then I turned and saw a myriad of my possessions in boxes on the floor. The place was a thrift store! And in the boxes was my stuff!
I paid to retrieve two coats, which I had to put on so that I could carry my old 35mm Canon camera, and a bunch of other outdated keepsakes. Spending all, yes all of my money, I found that I now could not carry the booty. A middle-aged couple volunteered to help.
So there we were, loaded up and headed toward an elevator. I arrived at the elevator door and it was jammed, so I turned to tell my helpers… and they were gone… and so was my precious stuff. I whispered to myself to just wait. I was then informed that the elevator was totally out of order, but I could take another at the other end of the building.
I trekked through a long hall past many doors, that were entryways to movie theatres. But I had not the money to attend. Finally, I found that I could not squeeze though the narrow doorway to the elevator with my packages. I got through carrying nothing but my two coats, which I wore victoriously.
As I entered, I jammed in alongside workers leaving for the day. Some wore hardhats. Others wore uniforms. One older man in machinist’s coveralls said, “Man, you’re a big guy.” I took off one of the coats and said, “Look, it’s a XXXLT” and very hard to come by.” He smiled and just shook his head chuckling. "
Then I noticed a younger man who stood in front of me, facing me from the center of the elevator. He wore the clothes of a coal miner. He was caked in black dust but his eyes shone clear. I noted that the bright light on his helmet still gleamed in the dim. He smiled, and seemed like a younger, slimmer version of my first cousin’s husband. Somehow with his smile so inviting it seemed that we were related… and we knew each other well. I nodded and smiled a bit back at him, and asked, “How’s your father? He looked gently at me for a moment, then smiled broadly. He softly said, “He’s great. Thanks for asking.”
And then... I woke up.
After thinking a bit this evening about the dream, I asked myself whether it was just an old man’s dream? A medicinal fog? Or was it a revelation? Who was that young man emitting a guiding light, who still works deep within the dim of this everyday world. . . and befriends a man who can’t help but think in two coats that are XXXLT. Vaguely.., I think I know.
I find myself now classified officially as “old man”, for I have dreamed a dream. It was so vivid that upon waking, it was as if I had lived it. I tried in recent hours to attribute the occurrence to a medicinal fog brought on by a Tylenol taken, as I had tried to shake the remnants of a cold. But it seemed more. . . so very real. It was memorable. I seldom remember dreams.
The dream began that I was sitting at the home of a sister in Christ. My wife and I had eaten there as was our occasional holiday custom. For some reason I began to leave alone. But instead of driving my Chevy pickup, I backed my friend’s Ford pickup out of the driveway. At the bottom of the driveway the truck would not stop. It kept backing down the highway. I jammed on the brakes. I shifted gears. I tried to engage 4WD. But all efforts were fruitless. I was left only able to keep the vehicle on the road as it continued to slide backward. Eventually the vehicle stopped miles away, in the parking lot of a large white factory, one that truly does not exist in the country town of my real world..
Fearing driving the vehicle back up the hill, I dreamt that I went into the building and was told the phone was on the top floor. I went up the spiral stairway and asked to use the phone to call and tell everyone that all was okay.
After attempting to call, and failing, I returned to the desk and the secretary said the charge was $8 for the call. I complained belligerently, and said that I would be telling my Lutheran congregation of the rip off. I paid the money from the $22 dollars in my pocket, out of all the remnant that I had.
Then I turned and saw a myriad of my possessions in boxes on the floor. The place was a thrift store! And in the boxes was my stuff!
I paid to retrieve two coats, which I had to put on so that I could carry my old 35mm Canon camera, and a bunch of other outdated keepsakes. Spending all, yes all of my money, I found that I now could not carry the booty. A middle-aged couple volunteered to help.
So there we were, loaded up and headed toward an elevator. I arrived at the elevator door and it was jammed, so I turned to tell my helpers… and they were gone… and so was my precious stuff. I whispered to myself to just wait. I was then informed that the elevator was totally out of order, but I could take another at the other end of the building.
I trekked through a long hall past many doors, that were entryways to movie theatres. But I had not the money to attend. Finally, I found that I could not squeeze though the narrow doorway to the elevator with my packages. I got through carrying nothing but my two coats, which I wore victoriously.
As I entered, I jammed in alongside workers leaving for the day. Some wore hardhats. Others wore uniforms. One older man in machinist’s coveralls said, “Man, you’re a big guy.” I took off one of the coats and said, “Look, it’s a XXXLT” and very hard to come by.” He smiled and just shook his head chuckling. "
Then I noticed a younger man who stood in front of me, facing me from the center of the elevator. He wore the clothes of a coal miner. He was caked in black dust but his eyes shone clear. I noted that the bright light on his helmet still gleamed in the dim. He smiled, and seemed like a younger, slimmer version of my first cousin’s husband. Somehow with his smile so inviting it seemed that we were related… and we knew each other well. I nodded and smiled a bit back at him, and asked, “How’s your father? He looked gently at me for a moment, then smiled broadly. He softly said, “He’s great. Thanks for asking.”
And then... I woke up.
After thinking a bit this evening about the dream, I asked myself whether it was just an old man’s dream? A medicinal fog? Or was it a revelation? Who was that young man emitting a guiding light, who still works deep within the dim of this everyday world. . . and befriends a man who can’t help but think in two coats that are XXXLT. Vaguely.., I think I know.
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