Dream Interpretation #2

So, I usually dream very realistically, but here's another one that threw me for a loop:

I don't remember the whole dream, but here's what I do remember- I was in the presence of a very large and very old elephant who was on the verge of death. I went to sleep and the next morning we expected him to be dead, but instead, his mate had died and he had stayed up the whole night making some sort of cover for her our of beads. It was very intricate and hard work for such an elderly animal.

I don't know how to make sense of this, but here is what I learned about dreaming of elephants:

Elephant

To see an elephant in your dream, indicates that you need to be more patient or more understanding of others. Or perhaps there is a memory that you are holding on to for too long. You need to let go of the past. The elephant is also a symbol of power, strength, faithfulness and intellect. Alternatively, the elephant's introverted personality may be a reflection of your own personality.

To dream that you are riding an elephant, indicates that you are in control of your unconscious and aspects that you once were afraid of.

I'm not sure where the rest of the dream comes into play, but this did calm me a little. I do tend to hold onto things that I should let go of, and hopefully I will be able to overcome and move past the fears I have.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.-John 14:27

Dream Interpretation

Last night I had a dream that I was pregnant... I was really weirded out by this, so I looked it up on a dream interpretation website. This is what it said:

Pregnant

To dream that you are pregnant, symbolizes an aspect of yourself or some aspect of your personal life that is growing and developing. You may not be ready to talk about it or act on it. This may also represent the birth of a new idea, direction, project or goal.

This now makes so much more sense! A new direction and a new chapter in my life!

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
-2 Corinthians 5:17

New Orleans, here I come!

Everything leading up to this point has been a mystery journey to an unknown location. There are still the unknowns of the next year, but one thing I do know is that my life will change. I love being able to say that I'm officially going to New Orleans! I can't wait to experience the life of this city and everything it has to give. It amazes me that these people live in a city completely destroyed by Katrina, but continues to be a power house of music and spirit. I look at pictures of the devastation that still exists, and I'm floored at the resiliency of the people to rebuild in the most positive way possible. I know that I will be blessed by this city every day throughout my year there. I only hope that I can be as much of a blessing.

All of the people I met over the past weekend have totally enriched my life. The community of support I found within the arms of complete strangers reminds me of the love that God has. To go into this place is to truly experience heaven on earth. The laughs I experienced and the tears I cried have left me yearning for more. August couldn't come sooner! Up to this point YAV has been a plan. It was a direction I decided to take in my life toward my future, but after this weekend, YAV has become a way of life. If we had this love for complete strangers all of the time, this world would be and unstoppable force of God! The comfort I felt being hugged by people I had met just hours before cannot be described in words. These people didn't know where I had come from or what my life had been like in the weeks prior; they just loved me.

Everything is moving faster now. The days leading up to that letter seemed like months, but now everything is happening so fast. Soon I will be mailing in paperwork and interviewing with possible placements. It seemed like years away not too long ago, but in only 40 day I will graduate from college and begin a whole new chapter in my life. Only weeks after that I will experience another incredible weekend of Pathways and a whole summer serving God's children at camp. YAV orientation will be here sooner that I know it!

"Before a word is on my tongue, you know me completely, O Lord." Psalm 139: 4

This Psalm was shared with me in two completely different circumstances, and I feel that it was given to me as a gift from God. God knows me completely and has known me since creation. There is nowhere I can run to escape His love, and even in my darkest times, He will be by my side as my rock. Even when I am fallen and bruised, he guides me on my path. There is no step I take that He has not already seen. He is the ever present figure in my past, present, and future.

So no matter where God takes me in the next year, or even in the next weeks, I will hold strong to the knowledge that my challenges are commissioned by my Father, and the one who knows me wholly.

Everything is about to change.