Creepy

I’ve noticed that I sometimes have… incidents… of not-quite premonition. It has happened often enough that, when I get specific thoughts or feel sick to my stomach without a good reason, my guard goes up. A few times it has gotten to the point where I start making phone calls to key family and friends, checking on them. It usually only takes a few calls to find the person experiencing "the bad thing," whatever it may be.

My first clear memory of this kind of incident is during seventh grade. I remember waiting at the bus stop, not wanting to go to school that day, and having the thought that getting hit by a car and breaking my leg would mean missing school. When I got to school that morning, there was an announcement that a kid was hit by a car that morning and was taken to the hospital for a broken leg.

The second happened several years later. My sister and I were on our way home from something, I honestly can’t remember what, and I was driving. Whenever she drove us home, she would take one particular road that I didn’t like; I would take a different road whenever I drove. This time, however, when we got to the turnoff for her route, I took the turn. No particular reason, I just felt compelled to take that route home. It wasn’t until we got home that we both commented on feeling like there was a reason we took that road that day, that we had avoided a terrible (or fatal) accident.

The third clear memory is from about five years ago. My sister stopped by my office on her way to work. Our parents were out of town and we were watching the very old, sickly dogs for them. Turns out that she and I both had dreams the night before that the dogs died and ended up having a conversation about what we would do if the dogs died while our folks were out of town. We came up with the plan and, satisfied, went about our mornings. Less than two hours later I got a call from the housekeeper, saying that one of the dogs had fallen into the pool and drowned. We executed the plan we had developed only hours before.

The fourth was about two months ago, when we had the company-wide layoffs. Early Thursday morning, I had a dream that I was unexpectedly fired from work. It was so specific, right down to where my desk was, how I found out, and how my superiors acted immediately after. When I got to work that morning, I even mentioned the dream to my boss and how it shook me up. At 10:00 AM Thursday morning, everyone was called into a meeting and told that seven individuals were laid-off Wednesday night.

Is there a cute wrap up for this story? Not really. Do I think I have "the sight?" Absolutely not. If anything, I think the Holy Spirit gives me a heads up when something is going to happen, allowing me to begin considering my response and planning for the outcome. I appreciate a little advance notice; I can't imagine having received the call about the dogs without warning... Talk about awkward!

I'm learning to take advantage of these moments. And, when I wake up in the middle of the night, whether from a dream or not, take the time to quiet my heart and ask the Lord who in my life needs prayer today. Sometimes it's me, most times it is not. Sometimes the person on my mind will reach out within a few hours of waking and tell me about a specific struggle. Sometimes I reach out, letting them know that they were on my mind.

And I never, EVER tell people when I have a dream that they died. Once was enough!