Connected and Connecting

“I urge then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”*

Have you ever noticed how fragments of experiences, things we read, hear or see, along with people—both familiar and unfamiliar—are woven into our dreams? It is somewhat of a marvel how our minds can produce such vivid, realistic dreams that it often takes a while upon awakening to convince ourselves that we were indeed dreaming.

 The heartbreaking scenes of mothers holding tightly to their children as they fled from their homes in the Ukraine this past month must have influenced a dream that I had just before waking up one morning. In the dream, I was standing alone in an unfamiliar place when a stranger approached me, thrust a baby into my arms and then hurried off.

Immediately after that, someone else came up to me with another infant. This one was so tiny that it fit into the pocket of my sweater! There I was, stranded with two babies and with absolutely nothing to take care of them. At that moment, TJ the lab came into the bedroom and woke me up.

Feeling helpless and yet filled with a strong desire to do something, I shared my dream with our friend Molly over the phone that morning. The problem wouldn’t be in collecting supplies for babies. It would be in shipping them overseas and getting the supplies to the right people.

 Molly knew someone from Poland and offered to ask her friend how to get baby supplies to the Ukrainian refugees. That question was occupying my mind while taking my daily walk with TJ later that same day when we unexpectedly encountered a friend, Lisa, who was also walking her dog.

 She and I first met nearly five years ago, when Lisa’s small spaniel managed to wiggle out of the gate and follow Teddy and TJ down the street. I couldn’t convince the runaway pet to turn around and go back home; so, we finally turned around and retraced our steps, with the little dog racing in circles beneath our feet.

We hadn’t gotten too far when three people ran towards us, waving their arms and crying out, “Annabelle, Annabelle!”

They were frantic after discovering the missing Annabelle, sure that she was going to run into the busy street.

 “We’ve got her,” I reassured them. “She was following us!”

 That was the beginning of my friendship with Lisa, her husband, daughter and their beautiful little brown and white spaniel, Annabelle.

 As Lisa and I chatted that afternoon, the dream about babies came to mind so I shared it with her.

“Oh, you have a mother’s heart,” she said upon hearing my desire to help. “I read something about that on my cell phone!”

   St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox church, about four miles away, was hosting a big drive for a Ukrainian children’s relief organization during the coming week! Lisa, whose career is closely connected with mothers and babies, had already purchased some supplies and was planning on collecting stuffed animals to take over to the church later in the week.

It was perfect! There wasn’t anything for me to do except to go shopping! Everything had already been set in motion.  I got back to Molly and passed along the information to her, as well as to several other people. 

Was the Lord speaking to me through a dream? I believe He was. The timing was perfect and the message loud and clear. Although I wasn’t the person to organize the operation, I was able to have a small part in it and to tell others as well. Lisa was the connecting link for me.

When we are connected to God through faith in Jesus Christ, He gives us the desire not only to help others but also to pray for their basic needs. In addition to praying for clothes, food and shelter, there are other needs like healing, deliverance, peace, forgiveness, protection… It’s an endless list!

Praying, which includes intercession, presenting requests to God and giving Him thanks, is something He has called us to do, individually and collectively. God is glorified through our prayers. Let’s not wait for a dream!

*1Timothy 2:1-4 NIV

Picture above, Lisa and her pet, Annabelle