A Metaphor

I haven't written in a while, probably because I have had lots of things to do in the great outdoors. I have decided that I learn more about God from simple things like gardening than many other ways. But more on that in a bit. Right now I want to describe my Saturday night. I am sitting a a coffee shop downtown called Leela's and watching this group of highschool students. There are so many of them. Its interesting to look at their faces and see the hope or discouragement. The desire to hook up with the boy theyre sitting next to or the look on the boy's face when he doesnt understand why the girl is acting like she is. Its hard to look at this group too. I wish I could be part of it and be talking to them and telling them all these wonderful things they should know... that they really need and want to hear but just dont. But I can't. Its really conflicting feeling.

I was thinking today about weeds, mostly because I spent a good two hours pulling them (and trying to get a tan). These weeds live, unwatered, planted in the most unlikely soil. They are growing where, a good seed could fall and get swept away. To reverse the analogy, we should be like those weeds. Even they can grow in the most adverse conditions. Christians need to be planted with our tap root deep in this barren seemingly desecrated wasteland who is Christ. Trusting that we will not be uprooted and those seeds that flower into seductive blooms get swept away. Sometimes it seems as though Christians have now become those easily blown seeds, and I don't believe that is the way its supposed to be. Further we should multiply like those weeds.

Now the metaphor only goes so far, as all language can only go to a point. Weeds, by design, multiply and steal the needed water, sunlight, and nutrients that good plants, the ones that are supposed to be there need. Weeds by design are not in the design of the gardener. It is necessary to prune good plants so there is growth, and also to pull weeds completely to give the new growth more room. SO you can see my original metaphor can only say a certain thing, but can say another in a whole other way.

We can even ask, why would God design weeds in the first place. Maybe this is a discussion to be saved for a quieter time. I'll get back to you...

In the Dream World.

I've been having these weird violent dreams lately. They haven't been scary but they are quite out of the norm... Let me relate a few of them for you.

1. In the dream I was hanging out with some friends in a mall type place. There was someone who wanted to lead me to a place so we began walking though all of these tunnels that were destroyed or falling apart. I did not know the guide, however I could tell that she was someone not to be trusted. I could feel something evil about her. As we moved through these dark and shifty passages we came across a large room and I found a small boy who was hiding. I instantly knew that the Guide was looking for this child and he needed to stay away from view, but at the same time, he would not be left behind.

As the Guide was leading me back towards the place from which we came, we came across Nathan W. and I was starting to be a little fearful so we walked closely together as if we were one person. All the while we would distract the Guide from the boy's movement or else we would point out places for the boy to hide. The entire feeling of the dream was this pressure filled, thrill and a fear of discovery.

2. In this second dream, I was in a place that felt like a movie set of a town. I could tell that it was not real yet that did not stop everything from feigning true qualities of a true location. I was in a target when all of a sudden I realized that there were these strange space people who were coming to destroy the city. I was yelling and announcing to everyone what was about to happen and so everyone was running around trying to find some place to hide. I grabbed my friend Ronna's hand and we booked it into the break room. I just remember a lot of shouting and seeing Lindsay and covering all three of us with a bean bag chair from the giant monster that was smashing the building in over us.

If you were to combine these two classic monsters... that's what the monster in my dream would have looked like:



When the monster was finished destroying things (for that was his only purpose) and left the city we came out of hiding and decided to go eat dinner. We went to a steakhouse and met a bunch of friends there. This was weird, I thought the waiter was flirting with me so I decided to go and talk to him. He said to me, "Its your birthday! you get to throw a knife and an axe at this sign and if you hit it and it sticks then your meal is free." I did not want to throw it because there were people surrounding the sign. There was so much pressure and I realized that it was something that I had to do so I threw the knife and it bounced off and didn't hit anything. Then I threw the axe and it didn't even make it to the sign but straight into a waitress's foot and cut off her toe.

There was a whole commotion after that and I ended up missing my bus, only to have to walk home. The feeling in this dream was semi-chaotic and pressure filled (again) and confining.

3. In this dream a friend named Phylis lived in a giant house and I didn't know where it was. Then she texted me and asked how Sadie was and that she'd be home in a day or two and I texted Phylis back asking where her house was because I didn't realize I was supposed to be dog sitting. I made it to her house and was there about an hour and a half, when Phylis came bursting in, mad that I wasn't at the house. She were telling me that she was only going to pay me 5$ and I said "I don't even want your money but if I did I would expect 8$"

So that's that.