Friend-ly Dreams

On my way to work this morning, I remembered a dream I had this morning before waking. It's the kind of dream that is nice when you're dreaming it but perhaps even more meaningful when you wake up...at least for me.

There's this family that my parents met when they first moved to Washington. So technically, I known them from birth, one could say: a husband, wife and two sons, the older is about two year older and the younger son is my age. Both of those guys are married now and the younger son also has his own babe now.

My dream took place at my parent's home and it was simply a get-together of our two families. As would be in real life, I roamed around my mom's kitchen, helping set out the snacks and tidying up where possible, while most of the people congregated in the living room, catching up. At one point, I left the kitchen and went to sit down in the living but was just listening to the conversations instead of joining in. However, right before this family was to leave, I asked the younger son how his boy and wife were doing (they were on the east coast seeing a doctor--in the dream only). After hearing an update from him, I turned to the wife of the older son and asked about how things were going for them. At this point, everyone was up and heading to the door when the older son turns to me and gently says: "You're really something Mindy. You sit there quietly, not engaging with anyone until the very end. You have so much to offer. You're such a warm caring person but keep that all to yourself. You need to be more open with people. People will love you." (Okay, I can't remember his exact words...I was dreaming after all...but that was the essence.) The way he said it made it feel both like a rebuke but also encouragement.

When recollecting this dream this morning, I once again felt rebuke/encouragement about who I am and how I choose to engage with others. I felt loved and challenged by the message that God spoke to me through this dream.

Because I'm more introverted than extroverted, I tend to listen and watch instead of interacting with others, especially if I don't know the others super well. However, God made me the way I am, not to use it as an excuse to not engage but to develop meaningful relationships with people along the way. It's good to listen and watch but it also good to social. God wants to use me and frankly, I want to be used!