The Dream

I had a very interesting dream the other night. I am going to try to tell it as a narrative. (also, I changed the names of the people to try to prevent embarrassment to them and myself--hee)

I am with my good friend Pete when he all of a sudden gets down on one knee and he proposes to me! The ring he gives me is a simple silver band with a solitaire diamond simply set in the ring. Pete is a very unique guy; I have never known anyone quite like him and he has challenged me to be different, or rather, more like myself in a lot of ways.

Later, I am with my friend Paul when he drops down on one knee and proposes to me also! The ring he presents is an beautiful, ornate gold ring. It has intricate engravings on the sides and has a center diamond with little diamond accents surrounding the center one. I am struck by the beauty and familiarity of the style of the ring. Paul himself is someone who is similar in his strong European background, like my own family, and even though I don't know him well in real life, I sense a strong familiarity in my dream. We embrace and I feel the familiarity again.

Now, I have two rings on my ring finger and am quite happy with it that way, although I know I can't wear two engagement rings. I will have to make a choice between the two in the very near future.

The next morning, I didn't remember my dream right away, but rather, something triggered the memory. After I remembered the dream, I was a bit troubled, especially since I could not understand why Paul was in there, since I don't know him well and have never had romantic feelings for him. I had this uneasiness for most of the day until I talked to my friend Drew. He helped me in interpreting it a bit by asking questions and offering suggestions. Much of what he said rang true.

Basically, the two proposals are two different types of lives that I have to choose, both materially, spiritually (in my relationship with Jesus) and in my other relationships. The proposal by Pete is a life that is very different than what I am used to. A simple life focusing on what is important and without the extra fluff.

The proposal by Paul is a life that is very traditional, and familiar because of how I was raised. I am most familiar with traditional ways of doing things, often involving more complexity than is really needed.

So I have these two choices in front of me. I am currently living both, in a way. I am so used to tradition, that I am still a bit stuck in some ways, but I am learning more and more about the simple life, based on the basics and not much fluff.

So now I have a choice between which I will choose, which I will commit to. I know which one I really want and which one God has called me to, despite the unfamiliarity and the unknown factor. But I will have Jesus by my side.

Now to learn to put it into practice!

Marieke