Living Color! 

                                     by  Shauna Brown

                  Last night I had a dream. When I awoke I was able to recall it with some sobering clarity, visual mind pictures, and naturally it left me pondering. I think it is worthy of sharing and thus, perhaps my dream can stir within you a lesson as well. 

             I was holding a large book within my hands. The size and shape of a large encyclopedia.  I could feel someone sitting beside me, but only felt of their presence. I was comfortable being there. It was clear that my focus was upon the book, and what was held within it’s pages.  

             As I read each entry, most often they were only small snippets or paragraphs of my life’s moments. I could instantly recall the experience and it was surprising to me, because the people, their names and places, were very easy to remember. In an instant I was there again.  I became very aware that my life’s book contained a unique rating system. As I reviewed the experience, color began to fill the margins beside each event.    As I read and remembered, it was apparent to me, how I had either partaken, learned of, acted upon an experience or missed an opportunity. Without instructions, as to the color’s worth I began to embrace and feel comfort when I saw the color turquoise pop up within the paragraphs. Evidently turquoise was symbolic for me of having achieved and reached the valued expectation for that experience,

              I must note here that often the experiences that I would have considered to be paramount and passionate about, sometimes didn’t even compare to a smaller event that brushed by me barely noticed. Gratefully, I found that I did take note of some of them, and it was important to my development. Even though I thought it something so small, it held significant value to my maker and to my growing season.  

        As I studied my book and saw colors magically appear within the margins, I could see patterns of purpose within the colors. Line upon line my life was filled with tutoring times and patterns of promptings that were invisible to my earthly eyes. Sadly I heard myself say, “I didn’t see that.” 

        Yet, upon some of the pages I found myself crying with joy as I read and remembered. Times when I had chosen to act, to say something nice, to give a compliment, to help another, to stand up, to speak up.  There were times when I sat and stared at a paragraph and wished I had seen what was there for me to discover. Yet I didn’t see, didn’t feel, didn’t act or respond. The moment was lost to me, and no color came within the margin. It was empty, and left me empty as well. What could have been?  

          “People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and its ends, but to me it’s quite  clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations, with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spat  blues. Murky darknesses. ”  ~ Markus Zusak, The Book Thief 

             Paragraph by paragraph, color by color, here a little- there a little, I found that everything has purpose and worth, timely placed within our paths. 

Tears fell freely as I better understood how life’s sentences are meant to write upon our hearts. Moments meant to change us, and instill within us the desire to become everything God wants us to be. It was clearly visible to me - what I had chosen.   I cried, I laughed and smiled. Humbled, by a dream so real, vivid and in living color.  

As I read, my eyes were opened to God’s tutoring and colored palette.  I shall never look at color in the same way. For today, within, I want strokes of turquoise and yellow splashed within my margins.

Enjoy your sabbath

Love Always  

Shauna