It's a decision that impacts life on so many levels. Immediately.
The extra calories jumping on my waist.
The pitiful quality of sleep.
And howlin' at the moon at 3 in the morning.
Yeah, there's that.
The dreams are different, too.
I'm at this large facility, packed with people, oozing energy and drive.
I realize it's a church.
A very popular, dynamic church.
This one high school kid looks lost, so we edge through the crowd to the auditorium where there are tons of other kids, all mosh-pitted together.
I leave him there, looking as lost as when I found him.
Now I'm sandwiched into the overflow area in the foyer.
Shoulder to shoulder.
Standing room only.
It's noisy.
A guy's trying to talk to me but I can't make out what he's saying.
Now junior high kids start coming down outta the belfry like bats.
Droves of 'em, like an infestation, pouring down this steep staircase that empties into the already crowded, over-filled foyer.
The noise gets louder.
I start to sweat.
It's gettin' hard to breathe.
And I wake up.
I stumble out to the Chair, letting my breathing slow.
Just enjoying the room, the space.
And the stillness.
A thought keeps popping up.
Be still and know.
Huh.
Pondering the dream, I stare at the streetlight and its snow for awhile.
Well, duhhhh.
The crowd isn't the problem.
Its my reason for being in the crowd.
For wanting the crowd.
The crowd was more important than Him.
I wanted to be part of something, rather than belonging to Someone.
And that - that's a bad decision.
Just like eatin' nachos before bedtime.