I Have a Dream
Gen 42:9
"And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them..."
On the day of national observance of Martin Luther King Jr., it seemed timely to write about Dreams.
Last week, I had a dream (at night) that caused me to think about dreams, both the kind that happen when we are asleep and the ones that we have when we are wide awake. There are differences between the nocturnal and the daytime types of course, but the two do interact and influence and even inform another.
In my dream at night last week, I was playing basketball with players considerably better than me, most notably Kobe Bryant. At the end of the game, he said to me and others that he had to get home. Which I noted, was L.A. (Kobe is kind of from the Philly area. His dad was a bench player for the Sixers for a number of years who then went to play pro ball in Italy, and his family--including Kobe--went with him). Kobe has left Philly in the past...and maybe exorcised some family demons of not dad getting his perceived due in the NBA.
I saw Kobe play in high school in the District I PIAA championship game vs. Chester. He made the other team look like asses and acted like one, too. He was mocking the refs who called two quick fouls on him. Talent can breed arrogance.
Anyway, in my dream--before Kobe departed--I could get myself in a position to shoot and score but for some odd reason, I could not get a handle on the ball. Since it was a dream, I am not going to necessarily be able to explain logically why I could not do so (that is one value of dreams I suppose, the bending of reality allows us to see deeper truth).
It was as if the ball was balloon-like and filled with helium; it was not exactly floating above my head, but it was kind of skirting the ground and being elusive. I would reach out to grab it and it would slip out of my hands. Here is what was real problematic. No one else playing seemed to be having the same problem with the ball. In fact, others on my team were getting upset at me, seemingly not recognizing that the ball had it out for me and only for me.
We have all heard the saying, "The ball is in your court." We assume that the ball bounces and can be handled. At least some of the time in life, the ball (materials, methods, others' full support and cooperation) may be lacking.
I played a lot of basketball as a kid and had a dream of being great. When my left knee went bad my junior year in high school, I became one more big white slow guy. What made the dream of being a basketball star gone bad so painful was my potential. Until the injury, I was not a typical slow-of-foot white kid. I was a way above-average athlete who just happened to be six inches taller than most other kids. So, I understand why I would place myself on the court in the dream as a way of expressing certain emotions related to fear and failure.
If God gives you a dream, like He has to me with the college transition work/Ph.D., expect that the dream may both make you and break you. In fact, your Dream may arise out of your hurt (you see the need in a way that others cannot). This Dream will give you hope to carry on but it will also create fresh pain, more than you might surmise. The bigger the dream, the bigger the burden. And, the more it can help others, the more it will hurt. Especially, if you endure active opposition. Or, even worse, apathy. Like a dog with low self-esteem, I would rather be kicked than ignored.
Bank on it. Count the cost of your Dream. You will be many years in a prison of sorts (or in actuality) before you shall sit, if ever, in the place of Princes and Pharoahs (like Joseph). I say "if ever" because not all dreams come true as we live in a fallen world. That only happens in Disney movies.
However, do see 1 Cor 6 1-3 for the rest of the story.
"And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them..."
On the day of national observance of Martin Luther King Jr., it seemed timely to write about Dreams.
Last week, I had a dream (at night) that caused me to think about dreams, both the kind that happen when we are asleep and the ones that we have when we are wide awake. There are differences between the nocturnal and the daytime types of course, but the two do interact and influence and even inform another.
In my dream at night last week, I was playing basketball with players considerably better than me, most notably Kobe Bryant. At the end of the game, he said to me and others that he had to get home. Which I noted, was L.A. (Kobe is kind of from the Philly area. His dad was a bench player for the Sixers for a number of years who then went to play pro ball in Italy, and his family--including Kobe--went with him). Kobe has left Philly in the past...and maybe exorcised some family demons of not dad getting his perceived due in the NBA.
I saw Kobe play in high school in the District I PIAA championship game vs. Chester. He made the other team look like asses and acted like one, too. He was mocking the refs who called two quick fouls on him. Talent can breed arrogance.
Anyway, in my dream--before Kobe departed--I could get myself in a position to shoot and score but for some odd reason, I could not get a handle on the ball. Since it was a dream, I am not going to necessarily be able to explain logically why I could not do so (that is one value of dreams I suppose, the bending of reality allows us to see deeper truth).
It was as if the ball was balloon-like and filled with helium; it was not exactly floating above my head, but it was kind of skirting the ground and being elusive. I would reach out to grab it and it would slip out of my hands. Here is what was real problematic. No one else playing seemed to be having the same problem with the ball. In fact, others on my team were getting upset at me, seemingly not recognizing that the ball had it out for me and only for me.
We have all heard the saying, "The ball is in your court." We assume that the ball bounces and can be handled. At least some of the time in life, the ball (materials, methods, others' full support and cooperation) may be lacking.
I played a lot of basketball as a kid and had a dream of being great. When my left knee went bad my junior year in high school, I became one more big white slow guy. What made the dream of being a basketball star gone bad so painful was my potential. Until the injury, I was not a typical slow-of-foot white kid. I was a way above-average athlete who just happened to be six inches taller than most other kids. So, I understand why I would place myself on the court in the dream as a way of expressing certain emotions related to fear and failure.
If God gives you a dream, like He has to me with the college transition work/Ph.D., expect that the dream may both make you and break you. In fact, your Dream may arise out of your hurt (you see the need in a way that others cannot). This Dream will give you hope to carry on but it will also create fresh pain, more than you might surmise. The bigger the dream, the bigger the burden. And, the more it can help others, the more it will hurt. Especially, if you endure active opposition. Or, even worse, apathy. Like a dog with low self-esteem, I would rather be kicked than ignored.
Bank on it. Count the cost of your Dream. You will be many years in a prison of sorts (or in actuality) before you shall sit, if ever, in the place of Princes and Pharoahs (like Joseph). I say "if ever" because not all dreams come true as we live in a fallen world. That only happens in Disney movies.
However, do see 1 Cor 6 1-3 for the rest of the story.
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