Dream Ships
Four-year-old Molly and Grandpa went out the cabin
door together, hand in hand, but Molly quickly pulled free. She ran ahead on the trail down to the lake
because she was excited. Grandpa didn’t
call her back; he just chuckled.
The fall air was crisp. Molly felt chilly for just a second or two
because the cabin had been warm and cozy, but the coolness of the morning
hugged Molly all over. There was a
little frost on the ground. Molly
noticed how it sparkled in the bright morning sunshine.
It was October and the magic time of color. The leaves were all yellows, oranges and
reds. Molly liked all of the greens of
summer, but she thought that autumn was the prettiest season of them all. She reached the lake shore and stopped to
wait for Grandpa to catch up under a huge maple tree – all of its leaves were
red.
They both stood there looking east across the lake
into the sunrise. The lake was
still. A little breeze stirred; they
watched it move across the lake as it created tiny little ripples. Each ripple sparkled in the sunshine just as
the frost did. A second puff of breeze
sent a little shudder of red leaves to flight.
Grandpa pointed to them floating through the air. “Just like a little flock of cardinals, isn’t
it Molly,” Grandpa said. Grandpa was
always seeing things like that. “There’s
always more to see than what you see Molly.”
Grandpa said that a lot on their walks.
Molly didn’t really understand what he meant and Grandpa never explained
it.
“Look Molly,” Grandpa pointed as the leaves landed on
the water. The leaves were curled and
they landed with their edges pointing up.
“Those are dream ships,” Grandpa said.
Molly’s eyes grew big, “What do you mean Grandpa? Why are they dream ships?”
“See how they look on the water, Molly? They look like little sailing ships,” Grandpa
explained. “Each of them holds a
dream.” Molly’s eyes grew even bigger
and she strained to see the dream carried by each little red leaf. I don’t see anything, Grandpa.” “But they are there, Molly; they are there,”
Grandpa reassured her.
Grandpa went on, “There is a special wind that blows these
dreams all around the world. Some of
those dreams get caught up in the leaves as they twirl around in the air. Each leaf that is curled like that holds one
of those dreams, and for a little while the dream floats on the water. “
“Are they scary dreams, Grandpa?” Molly asked, suddenly concerned. She stepped a half step back from the water’s
edge. “No, Molly. The special wind only blows dreams that are
full of wonder and discovery. They are
all about love, because the special wind is all about love. And when people open their minds and open
their hearts, they can dream those dreams about love. In fact, the special wind will keep blowing
all of those dreams about love all around the world until someone dreams each
one.”
“Can I dream one of the dreams, Grandpa?” Molly asked.
It sounded exciting. “Yes, you
can Molly. Everyone can if they want
to.” Molly looked up at Grandpa’s
smile. “You won’t even have to be asleep
to dream one of those dreams.” They
stood there quiet for a moment.
“How did you learn so much about dreams, Grandpa,”
Molly asked. “In a dream of course
Molly. In a dream about dreams,” Grandpa
answered. Molly reached up and took
Grandpa’s hand. His big hand swallowed
up her little hand. It was warm and he
squeezed hers just a little – enough to feel snug and safe. It felt like a dream about love Molly thought
to herself.
They headed up the hill together hand in hand.
His Peace <><
Deacon Dan
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