December 4, 2023
Listen:
Read Along:
Dreams of Other Lands
by David Woodruff
If I am honest, to be like those who dream is both a happy prospect and a daunting one. Dreams to me are a mystery, a territory yet to be fully explored. And in a world that has more dreams than dreamers, where do my dreams fit? As the hymn “This Is My Song” reminds us, “other hearts in other lands are beating, with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.”
The season of Advent encourages us to dream and to embrace the dreams of others as portrayed in familiar stories. In Psalm 126, those who dream come from a place whose fortunes have been restored. Many of us have much to be grateful for.
But when we consider other hearts in other lands, and the hearts of our unhoused neighbors around the corner, we know that many dreams have yet to be realized. During this season of waiting, let us take time to reflect upon God’s dreams for our world, what they might mean, and where they might lead us.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined. ”
“The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before… .What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.”
