The Dream

I'd like to tell you all about a dream I had....probably 2 months ago.  I'm actually not completely sure of when it was, but it was a remarkable dream and it completely impacted my life.  At the time, I was in the midst of  circumstances that were draining me physically and emotionally and really consuming me.  Every day I was getting more and more tired.  I was not feeling exactly "hopeless"....just tired.  I was feeling like life was just too hard.  It seemed that everything was such a struggle (and had been for as far back as I could remember) ... even the basic ability and desire to survive.  It's not that I didn't think I "could" do it anymore...it's that I just didn't "want" to do it anymore.  I felt like my efforts were futile.  Around that time is when I had this dream.

In the dream, I was alone, out in the middle of a huge lake, treading water....and even though the shore (although far out in the distance) was in my sight, I just didn't want to swim for it.  I stayed there, treading water, until suddenly I stopped moving my arms.  I stopped moving my feet.  I gently closed my mouth and I began to sink.  And, even as I sank, I kept still, welcoming the fall and, internally saying to myself, "I just can't do this any more."  I repeated this in my head over and over and, with each repetition, I sank deeper into the cool, murky water.

But, then I heard God.  I heard him loudly.  I heard His voice echo through the water.  He said to me, "The mind controls the body".  And as I listened to Him, I began to understand that, because I was telling myself that I didn't want to do it anymore, that my body just submitted to it's  instructions and quit.  And I understood then, that changing my mind was where the power was manifested.  And as that truth took hold of me, and I saw myself as creative and powerful, I slowly began to rise toward the surface.  And when I reached the top, I looked out toward the shoreline, with the sun rich and glowing on the horizon....and I swam.