THE LOST ART OF RELATIONSHIP
said “old men will dream dreams,” he began to share with the disclaimer that even though God speaks to us through dreams, this was not a criticism, but it was meant as an avenue for growth in my life.
Picture it.
Brian and I were backstage, where just around the curtain sat a large crowd of people. On the stage were angels with awards. They were handing them out to several recipients, two of which were Brian and me.
Brian was called onto the stage where the angel presented him with his award. The crowd cheered, and he graciously accepted the award and the applause.
The next name called was mine. Except that the angel who was presenting my award was only two to three feet tall. I walked out onto the stage to receive the award and had to kneel down next to the angel to accept it.
At this point, the dream ended. I asked Brian what he thought it might mean. He said, “I believe it means that God truly desires to give you what it is you are asking for, but for you to receive it, you need to humble yourself. If you humble yourself, God will bless you with what you are asking for.” (He was referring to the need I expressed in the humbling conversation we had previously.)
At this point, I wish I could say I was falling over thankful for the words of rebuke and encouragement from my best friend. I didn’t respond at the moment, but only thanked him for sharing his dream. Later, when I started thinking about it, I became upset.
“I am humbling myself!” “How could he say such things?” It took me several days and weeks to process and accept what I heard from Brian. As I began to soften my heart to the dream, a proverb rose to the surface, “Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy,” (Prov. 27:6).
Here is the thing. Brian and I live several thousand miles apart. Why would he have any reason at all to share this dream with me other than to help me grow? As I continued to process this dream and what it might mean, I realized my pride was keeping me from seeing the significance.
I really needed to hear this message. I had been in a funk for a while, wondering why I was in the current ministry position that did not require me to use my passion to teach and speak. When I moved back to California, the opportunities were not coming very quickly, if at all. It took about three years (with a couple of opportunities to speak sprinkled in) before I started to have more invitations and opportunities to use this passion.
What I learned from this experience is that the ability to speak into