Someone has said that, "Dreams are a window into our soul."
Some years ago when I first stepped away from being the Baptist Collegiate Minister at Arkansas State, I started having vivid college ministry dreams I had not previously had. Some were just dreams and some were almost nightmare.
Freshmen Survival was our big start of school event that we recruited to all summer through orientations, mailings, etc. Our Associate would carefully select and train our upperclass leaders for this one day event that involved a large number of freshmen. One night I dreamed that I had gone to campus and had just been there for a few minutes in our campus Center when freshmen started streaming into the building saying they were there for Survival. I had FORGOTTEN that it was Survival Day! I immediately ran out onto the sidewalk and began grabbing upperclass students who were walking by saying, "Come inside, you are going to be a Survival leader." I woke up in a cold sweat and feeling like I had been run over!
My wife, Sue, coordinated the churches that did the meals for our Lunch Program. On those weeks we did not have a church to do it, she would prepare the meal. She also has coordinated large food events for our church. She occasionally has food event dreams where she has prepared for one hundred and two hundred show up, etc.
Sometimes the people in our dreams are recognizable and often they are former students who meant much to the ministry. They are in the same dream, but they were not in school at the same time. It is a reminder that God has used many wonderful students to minister to, share Christ and help a ton of other students grow in their relationship to the Lord. And, it was never a solo effort.
When I wake up, I often try to analyze the dream and decide what it means. I have just about given up on that. I think mostly they mean I am either mentally ill or at my core, I am a College Minister. (Those two may automatically go together.) And that I have had the uncertainty that goes with college ministry. Some days it works great and some days it just is a nightmare. But, that God is at work in our feeble efforts and that our concerns are often comical to Him.
"your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." Acts 2:17b
Arliss Dickerson's book, ALMOST EVERYTHING ABOUT COLLEGE MINISTRY, is available at amazon.com.
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