8/27/21

 What are you talking about?

             In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down the dream:  I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.  The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then, as I watched, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a human being; and a human mind was given to it.  Another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, had three tusks in its mouth among its teeth and was told, “Arise, devour many bodies!”  After this, as I watched, another appeared, like a leopard. The beast had four wings of a bird on its back and four heads; and dominion was given to it.  After this I saw in the visions by night a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth and was devouring, breaking in pieces, and stamping what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that preceded it, and it had ten horns.  I was considering the horns, when another horn appeared, a little one coming up among them; to make room for it, three of the earlier horns were plucked up by the roots. There were eyes like human eyes in this horn, and a mouth speaking arrogantly.

                 As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne, his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence.  A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.

Daniel 7:1-10

           

            Daniel had been given the ability to interpret dreams, but he had never recorded a dream of his own.  This night he had one of the craziest visions that appears in Scripture.  It involves beasts and end times and kingdoms and visions of the Almighty and angels speaking interpretations about mighty kingdoms and oppressive governments and the powers of this world warring against the Lord, their Creator.  There are pictures of God the Father and Jesus, described for the first time as “One like the Son of Man.”  The dream is powerful and violent and gripping and leaves Daniel bewildered and searching for answers. 

            I have always envied individuals who hear from God in their dreams.  How great would it be to say, “I feel called into ministry at the moment.  Please excuse me for an hour while I go nap and dream about God’s messages to us.”  I would love for sleep to be my ministry.  However, as I read Daniel’s account, I may reconsider.

            My guess is that Daniel committed his dream to written form because everyone that he talked to thought that he simply had a nightmare, maybe even a night terror.  “What are you talking about, Daniel?  Just go back to sleep and forget it.”  But he could not forget it because he knew that this was not just some poorly digested food or a random dream...this was God speaking to him.  The prophet may not have understood everything that was being said, but he was certain that God was speaking to him.

            I often find myself asking my son what he is talking about.  It was just a dream.  It was just a story.  It was just a movie.  It was just your imagination.  It seems like every conversation is filled with obscure references, jokes that only he gets and volatile triggers that provoke a response that is way, way bigger than it should be.  We have to be careful not to say the word “Fraggle” around the dinner table because he will jump up, knock his chair over, jam his fingers into his ears and be out of the dining room and down the hall in three quick steps.  We want to enjoy dinner together so we will ask him what is the matter and what about the word “Fraggle” promotes such an excited response.  He will hem and haw and mumble something about expecting the conversation to stop and dinner and snow and throw out other stream of consciousness words while he is recovering his composure.  And I just sit there and think, “What are you talking about, son?”  I know he is trying to say something, but I do not know what it is.

            It is not on the scale of a Prophetic Dream about the end times, but here is what I have gleaned:

·         Heard Words have different impact on people.  I spit out words all day.  I answer questions, offer comments, give speeches, reject tele-marketers.  I am in conversation with people all day.  The important words, I write down.  Everything else I soon forget so that I can keep space available to deal with the important things.  For my son, there is no compartmentalization of words.  If he hears a line of dialogue quoted, he is keenly aware of what he felt and thought and saw and heard when he first encountered those words.  Words are not just a currency for him, they are an anchor that grounds him to a specific point in time and brings him back every time they pop up.

·         Spoken Words have different uses for people.  I can give a speech and be so in the moment that I have no idea exactly what I just said.  I use words to express my opinions and to influence others.  My son uses them as shields, they are not intended to provide meaning, they are to fill up his ears and keep others from sending him where he does not want to go.

He has gotten better at language…so much better at language and communication.  But there are times where I have to remind myself that when I ask, “What are you talking about, son,” the words that are coming out of his mouth are not really intended for my ears, or the ears of anyone but himself.

            And that is problematic for me.  Language is supposed to bring people together, not keep them apart.  Yet that is exactly what happens with my son and I and I am left perplexed and frustrated and looking for some other way to connect with him.

A moment to reflect:

How does your child use language differently than you?  How can you listen for what they are trying to say?