Strange Days

I'm praying oddly and deeply this morning.

I woke from an intense dream.  Amongst other things, in the dream I was in Haiti, walking up a hill, but something about the skies and the clouds was foreboding, and I turned back.  There were other themes too, and as I woke in the dark I found myself praying quietly for each of things that the dream touched.  And wondering, "what happened or will happen in Haiti today?"

Then I rolled over, roused myself and checked my email.  The first email I read was from someone on the ground in Haiti.  There was another earthquake this morning, of 4.7 magnitude.  His brief email is all the information I had.

It was a sort of stunning way to begin the day, dreaming so specifically, wondering and praying, and then reading that news.

A few years ago I dreamt intensely of China, and woke to the news there of a devestating earthquake.

It's such an odd thing, to pray and listen that way, with my dreams.  I don't understand it, and I'm not certain I'll ever grow used to it.  And yet, I'm glad in a way to pray deeply.

A short time ago I got an email from another friend.  She went into labor early this morning, and she and her husband will welcome their first child to the world sometime soon.

And so I find myself praying, for each of the themes and people and places that my dream this morning touched, many of which have now faded into that invisible space between sleep and waking.  I'm praying for my friends as they welcome new life into the world.  And I'm praying for each of the people and concerns with whom I will come in contact today.

Strange days indeed.