Telling Carole about my early morning dream. I asked her if I appear to have lost my mind, would she tell me. She said she would lure me outside and lock the door. That didn’t help me. So here’s the dream:

I was in unknown territory trying to find my way home. I stole a little car and painted it yellow then took off on back roads to find an intersecting highway that would tell me where I was. I went through several small worn out villages. Nothing looked familiar. Finally I crossed Interstate 79. I asked out loud in the dream, “Where is I-79?” I didn’t know and when I woke I still didn’t know.

I-79 runs south from Erie, Pa through Pittsburgh. Getting to I-79 from Iowa, means I had to take a serious wrong turn.

I can hear doors locking behind me.

I’ve learned to take my dreams seriously. Some are crazy, but this one seemed meaningful. I questioned that when I looked into the mirror. “You look like you’ve been on a long road trip.”

A common background thought among us is that we do not know where we are in all this crisis talk. Don’t know for sure how we got here, where we are in the process or where we are going. It just feels like we are in absolute unknown territory.

We don’t know whose opinion, knowledge and viewpoint is to be trusted. The contradictions are disturbing. The political wars—reminds me of Anne Lamott’s line: “It’s bad enough to make Jesus drink Vodka right out of the cat’s bowl.”

Jeremiah’s words came to mind upon awakening.

Jeremiah 31:21-23 New King James Version (NKJV)

“Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
Set your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.”

Jeremiah 31:21-23 New Living Bible

“As you travel into exile, set up road signs pointing back to Israel. Mark your pathway well. For you shall return again, O virgin Israel, to your cities here. How long will you vacillate, O wayward daughter? For the Lord will cause something new and different to happen—Israel will search for God.”

Jeremiah 31:21-23 The Message

“Set up signposts to mark your trip home.

Get a good map. Study the road conditions.

The road out is the road back.

Come back, dear virgin Israel, come back to your hometowns.

How long will you flit here and there, indecisive?

How long before you make up your fickle mind?

God will create a new thing in this land….”

Land marks seem important this morning. Today is the firm landmark. Good Friday. Whatever is in question, it is the Cross that is THE landmark. We are God’s children, we are forgiven. The Resurrection is imbedded in each of us—new life and a future. Hallelujah! Out loud and real loud.

My dream makes more sense now. But that little car–you may have to help me with it. Painting it yellow? And I only painted the front half—that would surely be good camouflage: unnoticeable in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

Be safe, be well. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Dean

At Calvary.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVwBKV_OYBc