Pauses in Our Day

I sometimes find myself daydreaming.  My mind seems to just wander off and little movies begin playing in my head.  Great movies with great endings. The definition of daydream is a pleasant visionary usually a wishful creation of the imagination. Recently they have discovered that those who daydream improve their focus, enhance their memory as well as increased creativity and problem solving according to Wake Up World.  Those are pretty awesome benefits.  I know daydreaming has been studied for many years but I have my own ideas on why we daydream.   To me, a daydream is God’s way of connecting to us or planting the seeds of our dreams.  When I daydream I tend to see things I wouldn’t normally think of myself.  I become inspired by my daydreams.  One reason may be that I am awake and I can remember them.  I rarely remember a dream at night but always recall my daydreams.    Daydreaming to me also seems like nature’s way of allowing us to meditate without thinking about the process.  It allows us naturally to zone out for a bit.  When I daydream it normally happens during a stressful day when I am trying to accomplish too much at a pace I am not comfortable with.  It’s my mind’s way of saying, “Slow down you’re rushing your life” and I wander off into a daydream.  I look off, not focusing on any particular thing but releasing myself in thought.  I once read a pin on Pinterest that said “If you want to know where your heart is, look where your mind goes when it wanders.”  Wow, how powerful is that? My heart is very vested in God and when my mind wanders off I tend to think of loved ones.  I often wonder if it is God sending me a message to stop and send love to the person I am daydreaming about.  Maybe God knows my husband may be having a difficult day and He is reminding me not to forget others.  Sometimes if a daydream is particularly strong, meaning it pulls my attention often then I will text my husband (or whomever I am thinking of) and tell him I love him or I am grateful he is my husband.   There have also been times I daydream that when I bring my mind back I have a solution for something that has been bothering me. Even if my ideas about daydreaming haven’t been proven  I am still putting my emphasis on God and showing gratitude to my husband.  Both are very beautiful things.

Another time I feel God sends me a pause for my attention is at night.  There are times that I wake up around 1 am and I am wide awake.  I feel God is saying “This is a good time to talk (pray).”  I use these pauses at night to talk to God and thank him for my blessings or release any problems or concerns to Him.  Usually I pray or talk to God for about 10-15 minutes during these times and I am then suddenly tired and back to sleep not to wake until the morning.  You know, again, this is just another opportunity to come closer to God instead of restlessly trying to fall back asleep.  Once many years ago when I lived in a very small town and was divorcing my first husband I found everyone in town knew all the details of why I was divorcing.  This wore on me every day because I was trying to maintain a home for my daughter making $19,000 a year and work 60 hours a week.  My divorce was very uncivil and when I went somewhere people asked me questions regarding my divorce dragging me down more.  I remember it was a Wednesday night about 11:45 pm.  My little 7 year old daughter had fallen asleep in my big bed.  She looked so tiny curled up under the covers.  I said out loud, “Lord help me to know what is right for us.  Help me to give my daughter the best life possible.  I am releasing this to you for your help.”  I woke up at 6 am the next morning as I always did, sat up in bed and thought, “We are going to move away from this town to be closer to my family and start a fresh life in a new area.”  It was so clear in my mind thanks to God intervening while I slept.  My daughter and I moved 15 years ago and since that time I married my amazing husband, began a new career while my daughter became a successful dancer, wife and mother and our blessings continue to flow.

The next time you daydream or wake up in the middle of the night feel your emotions and see if God is communicating to you too.

“We have forgotten the age old fact that God speaks chiefly through dreams and visions.”

C.G. Jung