To live as Christians is to live in a dream state. The best
dreams are those from which we do not want to awaken.
In them we enjoy unabandoned play or we find everything
suddenly making sense or we relish the embrace of a lover.
Then when we awaken in the darkness of a cold morning,
another day of duties begins to make demands on us, tempting
us to shut our eyes and try to extend the dream, the
wonderful dream.
But duties press upon us, and we put our feet on the
cold floor and hobble to the bathroom. In minutes the dream
is forgotten, and reality envelops us with its demands, worries,
and responsibilities.
To live as Christians, however, is to continue to live the
best of the best dreams: the dream of unending sabbath rest,
when we can cease from our labors; the dream of a life that
makes sense and where it doesn’t make sense, the peace and
trust to live in the mystery; the dream of a life lived in the
constant embrace of Love.
So important is this “dream” that we must strive
weekly—in worship, in prayer, in scripture reading—to
remember it. That’s what all the means of grace are about:
exercises to help us remember that the “reality” of burdensome
responsibility is not as real as the dream.
Then, like the psalmist, we can laugh—partly because
the dream is such a joy and partly at ourselves for our silliness
in so quickly forgetting the dream. And mostly because
we are reminded once more how when God gets hold of us,
everything gets turned upside down and inside out.

By Mark Galli from The Upper Room: 60 Days of Prayer for General Conference 2016