I read somewhere that an unexamined dream is like an unopened love letter from God. This morning's dream took place at Plantersville Baptist Church, the setting of about half the dreams I remember. A crowd of church members were huddled in the choir loft awaiting a tornado that was headed our way. We could not see the outside sky because the windows in the sanctuary are that frosted etched glass that obscures the outside view. When I realized my father was not in the group, I left the crowd to find him. He was in one of the back rooms and told me we should get under the stairs to the baptistry. I wanted to go back and get the others, but he said there wasn't time. While I appreciated his concern for my safety, I was distressed because the others would not be as safe. I woke up before the storm hit.

It has occurred to me that the [Christ] mass was represented in yesterday's dream, and today it's baptism. It's the two essentials of our faith. In each dream, I wanted to share with others - the joy of Christmas, the safety of baptism. There was a hard choice to make in each dream - should I take on the expense of someone else's Christmas? should I go to a safe place without getting the others to safety? And the verses from Romans 8 were in our devotional reading today. What is in these love letters from God?

Whenever I get a series of revelations like these two dreams and the Bible verses from Romans 8, I believe the Holy Spirit is confirming my beliefs and comforting my troubled soul. I'm also challenged to share the gifts I've received with others. Any additional message is still not clear. Today I feel God's love in a fresh way. And I want to share that love.

The hard part of dreamwork is identifying my shadow self, that part of me that had rather not be bothered with the Christ mass, or Eucharist, that side of me that worries first about me and mine and doesn't want to call the others to the safe place. Plenty of room for redemption there, Cathy.