Giving credence to dreams

I've sat on this story for quite some time. You know how you sometimes have good news that you really want to share, but you don't know 100% if you should share it or not, because there's a chance that nothing might come of it?

What? You have no idea what I'm talking about? And you found that last sentence to be horribly convoluted and confusing? Hmm.
 
I've had a couple of dreams in my life that have "come true" in real life-- I put that in quotation marks because coming true didn't happen exactly like I'd dreamed, but the dream ended up playing a big role in real life.

My dear friend Lauren blogged about one of these dreams and how it influenced her husband's and her emotional and spiritual commitment to two precious babies that they were unable to physically parent.

Another time, as Lauren anxiously awaited the birth of her sweet daughter, I sent her an e-mail in the middle of the night, just two days before her daughter was born.

I just had a dream that your baby girl was born and you named her Abigail (Joy/Father's Joy) Marie (ok, that means bitter... maybe bitter joy after losing the other children??) _______. If that IS the name, I'm going to try to induce a dream, go back to sleep, then wake up and buy a lottery ticket.

Love,
L

She and her husband hadn't considered the name "Abigail" before, but as her husband wrote in his blog, it was the perfect name for a much-longed-for child who brought such joy to her father-- and mother!

In both of these instances, the dream served as a catalyst, but real life was not an exact replica of the dream.

Ok, so now that you know the background of a couple of my dreams that have been (somewhat) actualized in real life (though for the record, I have yet to be chased around a wood pile by the Big Bad Wolf, forced to run from flying monkeys, lost all of my teeth, or shown up for a final exam after skipping every single class), here's the dream that is on my mind now.

And it has been recurring for several months. Vividly.

Through Lauren's struggles with infertility, I've gotten to "know" several infertile/sub-fertile Catholic women who blog, and I pray for all of them regularly. One woman, however, has taken over many of my dreams.

Several months ago, I first dreamed about meeting this woman. The scenario was quite believable (aside from the fact that she introduced herself by her blog name!) and in my dream I thought, "Wow! I feel like I already know her. And I have a feeling her life is going to change soon." Just then, she turned around and I saw her very pregnant belly. In my dream (and every one of these dreams since) it was Christmastime, so in real life this past Christmas season I was holding my breath and checking her blog regularly to see if she had any big announcements.

I can't write more about this particular blogger without likely giving away who she is (I don't want to do this for fear of disappointing her), but if she reads this, all I can say is not to lose hope! All of us need to cling to hope, and I have such faith that, in whatever way God plans, this dream of mine will be realized in her life. I feel very called to put this out there, because I think she needs to believe.

Whew. Weight off my chest. :-)