This week I had a dream. Actually, I’ve probably had many more than that. Psychologists tell us that we all dream; usually 1-2 hours every night and that it is our subconscious processing the events of the day. I’m not one that remembers most of their dreams, but this one I did. I’m thankful it wasn’t a scary one that haunted me into my waking hours or a ridiculous (how did I ever come up with that) one. This dream was so believable that it teetered on the edge of boring. None the less, it left me wondering why I had dreamed it. I have never felt like God has tried speaking to me through dreams, but because this one was so mundane I even wondered if that could be happening.
The first half of this dream I had actually lived out in reality years ago. I was at work as a charge nurse and it was the week of Christmas. Our patient census was down in the small hospital, which often happened the week of holidays. This facility was owned by the county and it cared about its employees. Instead of asking staff to take a low census day when everyone had Christmas bills to pay, they found other things for the nurses to do. And this particular day, the nurses could stay clocked in if they were willing to paint and hang wallpaper border in one of the newly remodeled, patient rooms. Most of the nurses were happy for a change of pace and jumped on board. As charge nurse, I and a nurse’s aid continued to care for the three or four patients that were still hospitalized.
The second half of my dream I had not experienced in real life, but I certainly could have. It was toward the middle of the shift and we were notified of two admissions coming from the ER simultaneously. I would pull one of the decorating nurses to admit one, while I admitted the other. No sooner did I step into Room 212 that Nurse Sally slithered quietly over to me, her back towards the others. In a perturbed voice, she let me know exactly how she felt.
“Can you believe it? This is awful.” I looked at her wide eyed, wondering what she was troubled about. Motioning her eyes upward and swinging her head in the same direction, she continued in disgust. “Look at that border! It’s more crooked than my thieving uncle.” I suppressed a grin and pretended to see what Sally was seeing. She continued to vent. “I beg you not to tell anyone I had any part of this.”
I was thankful the other girls hadn’t overheard Sally, but then how could they? The laughter and gaiety coming from the rest of the group drowned out anything Sally and I were speaking about. It didn’t take me long to determine that Sally was clearly the only miserable one in the room and probably the only one with a concerning blood pressure. I didn’t have to be a nuclear scientist to figure out which one of these girls I should draw out to admit the new patient.
“Come on, Sally,” I said, turning towards the door. “I’ve got a patient coming up from ER for you to admit.” If there was anyone I could count on to do a detailed and accurate admission, it was Sally. I glanced over my shoulder to see one nurse giving me the round “ok” sign and the one on the ladder silently clapping. Sally’s attitude hadn’t gone unnoticed.
My dream ended as I solved the dilemma of a type A personality in a room of type B’s. But the dream spurred me to spend a bit of time this week researching dreams. Even though God can speak through our dreams, (Numbers 12:6) the most common way He speaks is through His Word. I decided my dream didn’t fit the criteria of coming from God, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t reinforce a positive concept. Yes, there are some things that are just more important than straight wallpaper borders. It’s not always healthy to get our panties in a wad, as they say. If we can relax, have fun, and still get the job done, it’s by far the healthiest choice. Those personality types that become easily irritated and critical of other’s actions are 7 times as likely to develop heart disease. So, as long as no-one is chasing me in a trench coat, I’ll welcome the dream that causes me to ponder on constructive and healthy behaviors – no matter the source.
Until next month – keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.
(If you enjoy this type of writing, check out the book page on this same site to find out how to obtain my Christian fiction novels.)