Amid the varied chords and arpeggios coming from my car radio I found myself humming Beautiful Dreamer by Stephen Foster. Somewhere buried in the almost cacophonic jazz was that familiar melody. I was fascinated that amidst all of the notes being played the tread of a familiar tune could still be discerned. It is so much like our lives. Each of us plays our own variation of the same song we call being human. Our stories are unique and yet the same. We are born, we age, we marry, we have children, we die. Somewhere in the midst of that same song there are a billion variations.
We could even use Stephen Foster’s title for our common tune. Each of us is a beautiful dreamer. Every little girl and boy dreams of what their life will be. Rarely does reality match the fantasy. For some it is better and for others not so good.
Surely the ultimate Beautiful Dreamer is our Creator. He put the perfect man with the perfect woman in the almost perfect environment. It was perfect in all ways except for that tree. It was just enough of a choice factor to turn dreams into nightmares for millions of God’s children. However, that did not stop God from continuing to dream for us. He sent Jesus. It ended in the most horrible nightmare. Yet, God continues to dream for us. Out of Calvary comes the possibility for all of us to realize our dreams. Sometimes Christians are accused of being out of this world dreamers with our stories of heaven. That’s okay. Let non-believers call us whatever names they may. Their names will never interfere with the ultimate Beautiful Dreamer making our dreams come true.
Written by Roger Bothwell on February 11, 2015
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org