Dreams about Flat Tires and Walmart
Last night I had a very vivid dream, one of those that's impossible to get out of your head. It seemed strange at first, but I asked God to show me what it meant and what He showed me was too convicting not to share.
In my dream, I was riding out from my childhood house in Florence, down the sidewalks beside a fairly busy road. I started out going really well, it was a beautiful day and I did not have any plans for where I was going. All of a sudden, it started to get really hard for me to keep on pedaling. I began to get quite frustrated and eventually looked down and thought I might have a flat tire. I tried to ignore it at first, but eventually it got so difficult that I had to get off and start walking. I did not want to walk home and I knew that I was close to a Walmart so I decided to go in to see if I could find another tire for my bike. It was really crowded though, there were tons of people and nothing but books and some movies and music. (I even saw some cute guys, but unfortunately could not get their attention haha). I looked at some of the titles on the shelves and they were familiar, many of them Christian books.
This Walmart was actually more like a room and it was also circular. I was unable to find anything even close to a bike tire there though. I walked out of that room and came into an outer circle which almost looked like a Longhorn. It had lots of horse and western type stuff for sale, but still no bike tire. Eventually, I gave up on my search and that's all I can remember.
So you can see why I woke up confused. I had a feeling that the dream meant something, but I had no idea what it could be. .
After asking God, he began to bring things to light. The bicycle represents me doing things out of my own strength. I did not really have a purpose to where I was going, so I just did whatever "felt good." Eventually if you do things in your own strength, you are going to break down! (Hint: Sometimes He even lets us go over nails on purpose to show us that we need to depend on Him!)
But I still didn't understand the whole Walmart thing, why was it circular? Then I realized that it shared some similarities to my heart. Firstly, I have a tendency to value information and knowledge above even God. I confess that even during my quiet time, I can get pulled away from what I am trying to focus on, just by trying to Google something about a verse. Sometimes I even seem to place a higher value on what I read in Christian books than I do in the Bible and what God himself says. Secondly, there were a lot of people there. I also tend to allow people and their opinions in to my heart, my holy of holies so to speak. This causes it to be really crowded and chaotic, so that I lose my focus on my true purpose.
In the outer room, there was a bunch of horse stuff, probably relating to my work and my love for horses. What God really showed me though, was that He should be the only one in that middle room, because only He is able to fix that tire of my own self-effort. I need to be dependent on him to propel me instead, and I also need to keep the innermost places of my heart guarded against anything that does not involve him, even if it is information about Him!
If I could redesign the "Walmart" of my heart I would make the inner room a dome, with stars on one side and a sunrise on the other. I would have a blanket laid on some soft grass with flowers around me and it would just be Jesus and me, hanging out together. I wouldn't even need a bike that way!
My next room would have my close relationships and those that God has called me to love. After all, the first commandment is to love God and the second is to love our neighbor. Then my third room would have my job and some of the things (and animals) I love. The bottom line is that I need to center my life around God, so that He is at the core of EVERYTHING I do. I want to actually desire to please Him above pleasing people. I am starting today to begin asking the question, "what can I do right now that would make you happy?" Not that I need to please him or try to gain his favor, but just because I want to see His smile. Because Zephaniah 3:17, my favorite verse, says that He delights over me with singing. That is the God we serve and He loves us sooo very much!!
What do the rooms of your heart look like right now? What would you like them to look like?
In my dream, I was riding out from my childhood house in Florence, down the sidewalks beside a fairly busy road. I started out going really well, it was a beautiful day and I did not have any plans for where I was going. All of a sudden, it started to get really hard for me to keep on pedaling. I began to get quite frustrated and eventually looked down and thought I might have a flat tire. I tried to ignore it at first, but eventually it got so difficult that I had to get off and start walking. I did not want to walk home and I knew that I was close to a Walmart so I decided to go in to see if I could find another tire for my bike. It was really crowded though, there were tons of people and nothing but books and some movies and music. (I even saw some cute guys, but unfortunately could not get their attention haha). I looked at some of the titles on the shelves and they were familiar, many of them Christian books.
This Walmart was actually more like a room and it was also circular. I was unable to find anything even close to a bike tire there though. I walked out of that room and came into an outer circle which almost looked like a Longhorn. It had lots of horse and western type stuff for sale, but still no bike tire. Eventually, I gave up on my search and that's all I can remember.
So you can see why I woke up confused. I had a feeling that the dream meant something, but I had no idea what it could be. .
After asking God, he began to bring things to light. The bicycle represents me doing things out of my own strength. I did not really have a purpose to where I was going, so I just did whatever "felt good." Eventually if you do things in your own strength, you are going to break down! (Hint: Sometimes He even lets us go over nails on purpose to show us that we need to depend on Him!)
But I still didn't understand the whole Walmart thing, why was it circular? Then I realized that it shared some similarities to my heart. Firstly, I have a tendency to value information and knowledge above even God. I confess that even during my quiet time, I can get pulled away from what I am trying to focus on, just by trying to Google something about a verse. Sometimes I even seem to place a higher value on what I read in Christian books than I do in the Bible and what God himself says. Secondly, there were a lot of people there. I also tend to allow people and their opinions in to my heart, my holy of holies so to speak. This causes it to be really crowded and chaotic, so that I lose my focus on my true purpose.
In the outer room, there was a bunch of horse stuff, probably relating to my work and my love for horses. What God really showed me though, was that He should be the only one in that middle room, because only He is able to fix that tire of my own self-effort. I need to be dependent on him to propel me instead, and I also need to keep the innermost places of my heart guarded against anything that does not involve him, even if it is information about Him!
If I could redesign the "Walmart" of my heart I would make the inner room a dome, with stars on one side and a sunrise on the other. I would have a blanket laid on some soft grass with flowers around me and it would just be Jesus and me, hanging out together. I wouldn't even need a bike that way!
My next room would have my close relationships and those that God has called me to love. After all, the first commandment is to love God and the second is to love our neighbor. Then my third room would have my job and some of the things (and animals) I love. The bottom line is that I need to center my life around God, so that He is at the core of EVERYTHING I do. I want to actually desire to please Him above pleasing people. I am starting today to begin asking the question, "what can I do right now that would make you happy?" Not that I need to please him or try to gain his favor, but just because I want to see His smile. Because Zephaniah 3:17, my favorite verse, says that He delights over me with singing. That is the God we serve and He loves us sooo very much!!
What do the rooms of your heart look like right now? What would you like them to look like?
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