i'm not one who can usually remember his dreams. i'm told that i have them everynight, that they are a part of healthy sleep. but, rare is the occasion that i wake up remember the pictures in my mind.
but, last night was different.
likewise, i'm not one to fall into irrational fear--that is, i can watch slasher movies without double checking the locks on the door. i watched 'the exorcist' without questioning the motives of my son's tantrum.
but, last night was different.
i had a dream that i was chaperoning a trip for kings high school. that's a little strange for it is something that i did this past spring. the difference this time is that it was for the band/orchestra and not the choir. we were headed west for a very large competition on 2 charter busses.
as it often is with dreams, you don't remember all the details, but this i remember--i had a dream within my dream. just before we were packing the busses to leave, i fell asleep and dreamed that my family (who wasn't my actual family, but in my dream they were the real ones) went on vacation. while we were driving a large pick-up and pulling a camper (which is how those of you who really know me can tell it was not real), we lost control and drove over a cliff. the only survivor was our dog.
well, that dream-within-a-dream woke me up in the dream, but i felt such a overwhelming fear that i couldn't get on the bus to chaperone this trip. i tried to tell everyone that it was a prophecy about this trip and that we were all going to die, but no one listened.
eventually, i just slowly walked away from the busses and headed home, slowly walking, in a daze. (and yet strange details i do remember is that i was headed towards king's island and the sun was setting (or rising) just behind the eiffle tower).
the dream-within-a-dream was, in fact, a prophecy, but not about the trip of teens from kings. as i headed off into the sunset, i walked through an apartment complex and was shot down in a drive-by shooting. i died, but the trip out west had a wonderful time. i should have stayed on the bus.
so, in my dream (not the dream-within-a-dream), i was so frightened by the realizism--even though i was already dead--that my real, sleeping self was truly frightened. i couldn't go back to sleep.
i'm fine now and i realize the dream(s) were just that. i know God speaks through dreams, but i'm not convinced He had anything to say through this one. i'll just mark it up to weird and go on with my day.
but, i'll probably avoid busses, chaperones and apartment complexes for a few days.