A RETURN TO THE WESLEY HOUSE . . . 2 13 11
Do you ever think about going back to a place you were before? I mean really going back there. Not just thinking about it, but doing it. I mean going back to a place you lived at before, but actually also taking up again the old job you had back at that place. I have not done that yet myself in life, but I was urged to think about it in this dream that I had. (I actually reported this dream, section by section and chunk by chunk at first in my face book entry).
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| I DREAMED A DREAM ONE NIGHT . . . |
It was one of those vivid, unforgettable dreams. And what was a little bit frightening about it was that it was one I woke up from – and then resumed when I went back to sleep! (Now, that is strange!)
It was June of this year, and I and my wife were going back to the Wesley Foundation in Portales (ENMU campus)!! I had (for some strange reason) accepted a "retired appointment" there. [Retired preachers are cheaper to support -- that could be the reason.] The Wesley never did have much money.
What makes this so amazing and even unlikely is that when I left the Wesley in the spring of 1993, I had left as a defeated man. Indeed, one of my last (sour!) memories of my time at the Wesley Foundation was a council meeting in which the chairman and several others were telling me of certain things they would like to see done there. But I had already been there 2 years and 8 months, and had not been able to make it work. So I decided then and there in the meeting that I did not see how I could, in good conscience, remain there, since I had proven to myself that I was incapable of delivering what they were asking for.
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| There were children's toys scattered everywhere . . . |
But in the dream there we were, back again, and walking up the sidewalk to the front door, and saw all these children's toys scattered around the lawn -- like a bell had rung, and the children had just gone inside, and left the toys where they were playing with them. We went inside the glass doors, and they had the usual potted and hanging plants there in the front display area. Then we went inside the next (main) set of doors and the hallway was poorly lit as usual, but there were lights in the main, large room. And IT WAS FILLED WITH 50 OR 60 PEOPLE!! They were folks, literally of all ages: students, faculty, business people, church members, having refreshments and visiting. The guy that I would be replacing must have done a whale of a job, but in the dream, he was nowhere in sight.
We started visiting with some of the leaders and learned that they were eager for us to come; yes the present preacher had done well, but it was time for him to "move on up" to something else. I sat down and told them that I hadn't been very good at campus ministry when I was there 20 years before. I told them that I had had trouble relating to traditional-aged college
students back then.
I reminded them that this was back before young adults wore metal rings all over their faces and there were no tatoos (except with a few Army veterans). I said I had gotten more or less used to the metal rings and tattoos, but didn't know if I would still really fit in any more. They said they were sure that I would!
The dream went on. I sat down on one of the nice couches in the main room of the Wesley, and watched all the people visiting and interacting. Clearly my predecessor had done an amazing job of building some real Christian/family/community fellowship.
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| There were lots of people in the meeting room . . . . |
Then after conversing with some of the leaders, I was taken on a tour of the rest of the building. I still remembered my way around of course, but some things had changed: the kitchen had been remodeled and modernized. The class room had new carpet and small wooden tables with 3 or 4 chairs around each for the college students.
I recall how old and awful the bathrooms had been when I was there 21 years ago, but now they were remodeled with new fixtures. They looked pretty nice, and the plumbing worked the way it should! (We had installed a new 4 inch sewer line when I was there, and that had been a blessing; but now there was more!).
Then after conversing with some of the leaders, I was taken on a tour of the rest of the building. I still remembered my way around of course, but some things had changed: the kitchen had been modernized and remodeled. The class room had new carpet and small wooden tables with 3 or 4 chairs around each for the college students.
I recall how old and awful the bathrooms had been when I was there 21 years ago, but now they were remodeled with new fixtures. They looked pretty nice, and the plumbing worked the way it should! (We had installed a new 4 inch sewer line when I was there, and that had been a blessing; but now there was more!).
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| The office of the current director was cluttered. |
Then the leaders led me back down to the office of the Wesley director. It also was somewhat remodeled: my predecessor loved plants and had them everywhere (floor, walls, shelves, and hanging from the ceiling). It smelled nice but very "planty" if you know what I mean. The carpet was pretty much the same in that room and out in the hall way . . . It had the look of a cluttered office one typically finds with a busy man who doesn’t spend much time there. When I had occupied that office 21 years before, it had been a fairly neat and orderly office, because I spent a great deal of time there.
Then we went to the foyer area, and visited some more. And the dream came to an end. I woke up and it was 4:03 a.m. I thought about the dream a lot, and then fell back asleep. NOW IT IS REALLY WEIRD WHEN YOU PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF, AND START DREAMING THE SAME THING FROM THAT POINT ON! But that is what now happened . . .
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| The guy's kids were on the couch by me . . . . |
I was back at the Wesley (the good ol' Wesley House!) where I had been previously. I was on the same visit, except this time Bev wasn't present. I was sitting on a couch being interviewed by a tall thin blonde man. I think I dreamed this because I had been in correspondence with such a man in the last couple of days.
However the man in the dream was different in some ways: he was thin, balding, and in his thirties. But also like the other blonde man I had known this man had three sons (each about a year or two apart). The three sons were sitting on the couch to the right of me, and looking at me, while sort of squirming and bouncing up and down on the couch. . . . I think they had me figured to be a "pretty good guy" because they were smiling, and laughing at my jokes (and I was laughing at theirs). In between this “cutting up” their father, who was sitting across from us, was making informative comments about the Wesley House and all of its activities, and how things were at the church, the university, and in the town. I was listening of course . . . .
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| I sat there strumming the guitar and singing! |
Then, we sort of reached the end of that discussion, and I began to wish I had a guitar to play right then and there (I get those 'hot fllashes' from time to time). I happened to look over the side of the couch where I was sitting, and lo and behold there indeed was a small toy guitar! I picked it up, strummed it, and found that it was in tune -- and even sounded like a regular, large guitar. I started playing it and sang several snatches of songs (like "Stormy" -- a popular song from my teen years), and a couple of others. The boys and their dad seemed to enjoy it and even sang along on parts of it. I put the guitar down, and we all stood up -- the interview was over, and I had passed!! (How, I don't know . . .).
Then I went out to the car and found my wife. We drove over to the old parsonage on Floyd Golden. My children were small there, and we loved that house -- even though the roof leaked in a bad storm (it's been fixed since then!). As we drove by with our car full of stuff, it suddenly dawned on me, that the present director had not yet left!! So we could not even begin to think about moving in yet -- that would come in another month or so. I recall thinking in the dream it was a little over 300 miles back to our home in LC; but I was looking forward to getting back -- AND LOOKING FORWARD TO COMING BACK TO PORTALES AND THE WESLEY FOUNDATION! I know what you're thinking: is this guy mentally ill or what?!?!
So anyway, that is my second really vivid dream since I moved here. The other one was vision I had about meeting "Jesus by the Lake" (which occurred back in September of 2010). So I bet you Christian friends are thinking, "Hmmmm. Does God want him to go back to the Wesley Foundation in Portales?" I am wondering that too. But somehow with all else that is going on in my life right now, and my new job, this just does not seem to be the right time. And I do not at this point feel moved at all to contact my district superintendent and ask him to put me in the appointive pool. So what happens now? Only God knows!
LBC
