Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

(This post is also running Wednesday over at the KJV Blog Directory)

A few weeks ago my granddaughter spent several nights in a row with us. While making up her bed I decided to wash and dry a pillowcase I had made for her Daddy when he was a little boy. I used to always make specialty pillowcases for my kids. Tweety Bird print for my daughter. Sylvester for one son. Tazmanian Devil for another. Always cartoon characters. The pillowcase that I found that day was one I had made for her Daddy. It happened to be the Tazmanian Devil.

The fabric had become extra soft from age and being laundered so many times. I thought she would love sleeping on it. Little did I know.....

The last morning she was with us she told me she had had bad dreams the night before. That made me sad that one so little....she was not yet four at the time....would have a bad dream at Granmamma's house. I could not imagine what might have caused it. Later that day when I brought her pillow and a blanket from the bed so she could rest on the couch, she pointed to the Tazmanian Devil pillowcase and said, "THAT'S what I had my bad dreams about!" Oh my! Now I was having a guilt trip! Bad dreams because of Granmamma putting a scary pillowcase on her pillow! I had not thought anything about it possibly being scary for her. I just thought that she would like having a cartoon character pillowcase on her pillow. One that had belonged to her Daddy when he was little. I took that offensive pillow and put it in another room. And then I told her I would make her a new pillowcase for the next time she spent the night.

In a couple of weeks she was with me while I was shopping in Wal-Mart and we went back to the fabric department to see what they had to offer. She picked out some pink princess material for her new pillowcase.

Last week she spent the night with us. First thing she did after she got here was to go in the bedroom where she sleeps and look for her Princess Pillow.

She came out carrying the pillow under her arm and with a huge smile on her face. "Granmamma....you got my Princess Pillow done!" I could tell by the look on her face that she was delighted with it. Then she asked, "What happened to the scary pillow case?" I told her that I had thrown it in the garbage!

Instantly her little face lit up , she leaned over, hugged my neck and said, "Thank you Granmamma!" I was touched that it meant so much to her that I had provided a new pleasant pillow to sleep on instead of one that, to her, was scary

Sometimes there are things that come along that scare Granmammas! Stormy weather. Getting old. Getting sick. Watching the world turn more and more away from God. Seeing sin get a strong hold in a relative. Seeing sin in my own life. So many possibilities for scary things. I love it when God....my heavenly Father.....sees that I am scared and comes to me to comfort me as only He can. He can take my fears and fling them far over the horizon. "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103: 12


He can put his arms around me and make me know that He is with me no matter what rages around me. "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." Psalm 91: 4

I hope that I will remember to always turn and throw my arms around His neck and thank Him for calming my fears! And for giving me sweet, peaceful dreams!
"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety." Psalm 4: 8

Sweet dreams!

Marilyn



11 comments:

Debra said...

Those are some of my favorite scriptures. Love the little princess pillowcase!

Sr. Ann Marie said...

What a beautiful story--seems that is what love is all about!

Yolanda said...

Marilyn,

I love this writing of your journey wth your grand-daugher and the way it beautifully portrays our walk with fears towards our Heavenly Father. You and I share some of the very same fears!

Much love to you,
Yolanda

Elaine said...

I LOVED THIS, MARILYN!!! YOU GAVE ME AN IDEA FOR CHRISTMAS FOR THE GRANDKIDS. PRAY FOR DON. HE HAS PNEUMONIA AGAIN. LOVE YA'S! ELENA

Runner Mom said...

Marilyn, this was precious! Thank you for those wonderful reminders found in the scriptures.

Today, while reading our local paper, an article caught my eye. A precious lady was creating pillow cases--just like you did--for children in the hospitals with cancer or other life-threatening diseases.She had groups of Sr. Citizen ladies working on these bright, happy and non-scary (!) pillow cases!!

Hugs!
Susan

Deborah said...

What a wonderful lesson! And I know it's needed by so many right now.
Deborah

Rhonda Jackson said...

What a precious story! Very touching! I love it!

LisaShaw said...

Hi Marilyn,

It's been a while since I've visited and I'm so glad I was able to stop by today. What a powerful message. I was truly blessed by the analogy you made of what scared your precious grand baby and what scares you. Some of those same things at times scare me and I'm glad we have Abba Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to give us comfort and to take away our fears.

Blessings and love.

breadgirl said...

Marilyn
This is just a beautiful, moving and inspirational story. Thank you so very much for sharing it. God bless you.

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

I just left you a long comment, and then it disappeared...

I love the pillowcase idea! What a priceless gift. What's a blogging friend got to do to get one of her own?:)

Going to nightly slumber with a good pillow and God's Word is a recipe for a good rest. I sure could use some.

Love you, friend.

peace~elaine

Denise said...

Such a precious post, bless you. Elaine from peace for the journey sent me over here for a visit. I am so glad she did. She said you are a peer counselor at your local pregnancy crisis center, I filled out an application to become one. Please visit my blog post from today, here is the link:http://freetobeme-denise.blogspot.com/