it's been a wonderful
learning experience the past few weeks. and i'm still in the middle of it, and
thankfully the lord has given me some perspective to see how difficult times
and certain trials might have a purpose and work together for my good.
tonight i talked with a
very dear friend and role model and she told me about a dream that she had
growing up. she told me bc i called her and asked to hear the dream again, not
remembering it well but knowing it would be helpful at this time.
the
story.
she told me that in her
dream there were two boxes. one was very plain and there was a sticker on it
that said just for you. the box was from one person. the other box was wrapped
with lots of pretty bows and ribbons and it was from the world. she went over
to the other box, excited to open it, and when she did, oh it was just what she
wanted. it was perfect. and she loved it. so she played with it and worked with
it and then it broke. she was sad, but then there was another pretty box with
shiny wrapping paper. it was also from the world, and she opened it. and wow
this was even more what she wanted, and it made her so happy to have this
perfect present. so she played with it too and worked with it, but then it
broke as well.
and then she noticed the
plain box. she went over to it and held it and then opened it. the contents
inside were exquisite. she had never seen any thing like it before. it was
strong and somehow took her breath away. but she wasn't sure what to do with
it. so she tried to play with it, but she never figured out what she was
supposed to do. she went to the person who gave it to her and asked what the
gift was and how she was supposed to work with what he had given her. he told
her that once she figured out what to do with it she would understand what it
was and how to use it. she didn't really understand what he meant and decided
to save trying to figure it out for another day and put the gift away on a
shelf.
she then went back to the
other pretty gifts. she opened each one with great joy and excitement. but over
time as she continued to play with each of them they all broke. she looked
around and felt frustrated. surrounding her were several boxes, wrapping paper
and ribbons, and broken gifts. above the mess she saw the contents of the plain
box sitting on her shelf. though it was covered in dust it was still so
remarkable to her. she tried again to figure out what it was but then feeling
unsuccessful she decided to return it to the person who gave it to her. she
went to find him and placed the gift in his hands.
"i can't keep this.
i can't figure out how to use it."
"please take it
back. i know if i keep it i'll just end up breaking it."
the giver accepted her
offering. she had learned what to do with her gift.
there are so many
beautiful lessons and principles illustrated in this dream. i'll just share a
few: the contents of the plain gift (strong and exquisite) represent who we
are. once we figure out what we're supposed to do with it (give it to Christ),
then we understand what the gift is (our own divinity) and how to use it (this
could be so many things). the shattered gifts, Christ actually helps her put
them back together and then she is able to offer them to others.
