Few Things Are Needed

I had a dream several nights ago that was pretty vivid and definitely seemed to have some spiritual components so I wanted to share it. In the dream, our family moved and we had to find a new church. So all five of us went to church together. We  walked into a big church. It looked nice and had so many activities going on. In fact, it was set up outside to be exciting and fun. The only problem was there were too many people there. It was so crowded you could barely move. Before I knew it, our children were being taken away from us and led to the activity that was set up for their age group. We tried to keep eyes on all three kids but that turned out to be impossible with the crowd. I realized quickly that things were becoming more and more chaotic and it didn’t seem safe and we needed to leave. I tried to gather up my children, but by that time, I couldn’t find them. I realized that this wasn’t a church at all, but only a gigantic fair! People kept saying it was the church, but it wasn’t. I went over to several groups of people gathered around different activities to try and find my kids, but people were so involved in their game they didn’t stop to help me. They barely even listened to what I was saying…just “go look over there” and “isn’t this fun, it’s such a great church isn’t it!” So I searched and searched for my kids and finally spotted Robbie. Only he wasn’t playing a game. He was getting beat up by a bully! I was trying to push my way through the crowd, but by the time I got there, he had vanished. I never gathered all my children. Then I woke up.

I quit watching the national news a few weeks ago, with the exception of some local news and an article here and there. It became too distracting. There is so much “noise” going on in the world, and a lot of it is negative. Sometimes I get distracted by positive “noise”, too. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in a fun activity, a productive project around the house, and become busy with good things. But if we lose sight of the important things:  our relationship with Jesus, teaching our children about Him, and showing others Jesus’ love, then we have missed what truly matters. To me, the price to pay for being distracted, whether by negative or positive activity, is much too high. The current situation in our country is proof of that. Proof that God has not been a priority for a very long time. My dream was a reality check to me to remember to drop some of the distractions- negative or positive- and prioritize the important things. The cost is too great if I don’t. The cost is too great if our country doesn’t. Luke 10:25-42 describes it beautifully….way better than I ever could. Few things are needed. I want to choose well.

Your friend,

Tiffany