” When God restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.”
~ Psalm 126 

Today I had a truly freaky experience. I was running errands for some church related Christmas items. I had stopped off at Bachman’s to check out some things I had seen online that might help spruce up the sanctuary decorations. According to the online descriptions they also happened to be on sale. So, ever the frugal shopper, I nipped in to see these items first hand.

After a successful purchase, I stopped by the cafe for a late afternoon cup of tea before heading back to church for an evening event. I took my tea and a section of the newspaper someone had abandoned, found a nice, quiet table surrounded by the oxygen and humidity producing plants in this lovely cafe, and settled in. I was reading a letter to the editor, entitled ‘Imagine’. The writer was honoring John Lennon whose death is remembered on December 8th. Using some of the inspiring and challenging lyrics of his music, she was urging parents to pay careful attention to the ways in which we parent because, indeed, we have the power to change the world.

That’s when it happened. On the subtle Musak playing just below a conscious level, I heard not, the 100th playing of ‘ Feliz Navidad’ or even the 1000th hearing of ‘I’ll be Home for Christmas’. No, playing ever so gently was the sweet, sensual voice of John Lennon singing…….’Imagine’.

I looked around. Was this some kind of joke? What were the odds of reading about the song and then hearing it randomly being played in these airwaves so saturated with constant Christmas music? I sat very still and listened to the words I know so well. ” You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one. Someday you’ll join us and the world will live as one.”

This song has always held such hope for me. All Lennon sings about seems so simple yet so elusive. As I sat there still dumbfounded by the synchronicity of this, I thought of our church’s theme: We Are Those Who Dream. Yesterday in worship, we read Psalm 126, which holds the inspiration for this theme. I thought about how often I pay lip service to the power and gift of dreaming. But do I really practice it? Do I really allow myself to be lifted above the cynicism that is rampant in our culture and, like Lennon, be a dreamer? Do you?  And why not?

Perhaps my spirit, like so many, has been deflated by unrealized dreams. Or perhaps it often seems so much more expedient to make a list of the jobs that need to be done, be about doing them,and checking them off my list, chalking it all up as success. Isn’t this what we are rewarded for doing? Is anybody really rewarded for dreaming any more?

I thought of what I once dreamed of doing, of being. A ballerina. An actress. A peacemaker. A cowgirl. A nurse. A music teacher. A weaver. A collage artist. Someone who rallied people for ‘saving the world’. A travel writer. So many dreams.

Of course, I have dreamed many things that have come to fruition. Being a wife and mother. Being a minister. Having what I’ve written published. Making music often with people I love. Traveling to places that inspire me. Being given the privilege of walking the spiritual journey with so many.

Dreaming is, I believe, what makes the world go round and move forward. It is what helps us imagine what we can be and what might be. It is what helps us paint a picture of what God hopes for us and then walk into it. It is what allows us to envision a better world, a safer world, a more peaceful world. A place where ‘the world will live as one.’

Somehow I also believe that is what this season of Advent and Christmas is all about. Dreaming of the promise of a tiny child to transform the world. Dreaming of parents who nurture and guide. Dreaming of the inherent value of each human being. Dreaming of the invisible lines of connection that bind us all together. Dreaming of the hope of healing the world.

Imagine. Just imagine.