Bowled Over

Two dreams.

I was at a friends house, asleep, middle of the night. I was awoken by people singing and handing out flowers and chocolates at 4am. It was already quite light. I told them off - why were they waking me with their songs so early? When i returned to my sleeping bag, I knocked over a glass of water producing quite literally a "wet blanket".

Later the same night:

Out ten pin bowling with friends, we had just set up the scorecard on the computer and started to bowl. The first person bowled for the first time - but the automatic reset on the pins refused to work. We asked someone to fix it. It wouldn't reset. Then a screen came down, and when it lifted, there was no more bowling - other sports were on offer: I complained. We didn't want skiing or rafting or clay pigeon shooting. Rafting! As if we were dressed for water! That we were offered these upgrades for free was irrelevant.

I went back to our group - who were now (fully clothed) swimming in a pool. I was not ready to accept the changes on offer - they had dived in.

***

There are times I feel God speak to me through dreams. For a while it's like a radio tuning in; for several nights the dreams get more vivid, till something sticks out & remains. Here, I am revealed as someone who complains whilst around me other people are trying to bless others. I miss the blessing because it is not exactly what I want or was prepared for.

Yesterday I preached from Romans 6 that we should not live as people stuck in sin - a life with a broken relationship with God, "wrong-teousness", and all the acts that come from that; we should live as people who have a life gifted with a right relationship with God through Jesus - "righteousness". Then after church I was so consumed with a letter I needed to write to someone, complaining about a remark they had made in a letter to me saying they had not said something which they really had said, that I failed to take an opportunity to pray with and bless a non-Christian Chinese student who came into our Church. Complain, complain, instead of bless, bless. Wrong-teousness instead of righteousness.

And I am bowled over by the number of times a day there are opportunities to assert myself and show how right I am, when instead I could find time to bless someone else. I am awe-struck that it takes a couple of dreams to reveal me to myself and make me want to change.

O Lord, thank you for this moment; I am truly sorry. Make me a man of blessing, not complaining, and please, please help me break these unknowing habits of a lifetime.