Christ Be With You Dream (Lisa)

I met a man returned from war. His name was Donnie. He was wounded inside and I did not know how to help him. Claire whispered, Be with him in a dream.

Dear Sweet Claire,

I had a dream and it was beautiful because you were in it… It is February. “How’s the weather outside?” I asked and your Aunt Jen said, “92 degrees!” So happy for a warm day in the middle of winter, I scooped you up and took you outside to the backyard. As it so often happens in dreams, our yard was not a yard but a vast sandy beach though there was no water in sight. We sat together, you, cradled in my lap sitting all bent over like an accordion on that warm sandy beach. Looking up, a short distance from us I spied a family: a dad, mom and baby sitting on a red checked picnic blanket. The dad was in military fatigues. It looked like a scene from a 1950s movie. The dad was scooping up a wounded little bird from the sand and gently tossing it in the air to help it fly but the bird kept falling back, floundering in the hot sand. On his third attempt the little bird landed in front of me. For a moment I so selfishly thought, “Oh no! I don’t want to watch this little bird die in front of me!”, wishing it would all go away.

And then You Claire, YOU started to sit upright like you used to. You reached with your right arm and gently pet, pat at the little bird. Your arm movements were under better control like they used to be! Your eyes were bright and wide open. You were completely focused on not fixing this bird but just loving it, being with it. The bird pulled its head up towards the sky with each pat, like a cat waiting for his chin to be scratched. And with each pat, you gently nudged the bird to the left of you, where a tiny little stream of water appeared. The little bird drank and drank the water and then dove in it fully bathing itself in the cool water. That was all it needed in the end. You healed the little fallen bird by just being with him and trusting that God would provide the rest. I know that fallen bird was Donnie. You showed me how to love him. Just be WITH him. Claire, your life was so holy. Thank you for continuing to share the wisdom of God with us.