The Dream

I had a dream last night.  I was in a 3rd world country and working to get from one end of the village to the other.  There were puppies available for rent in small bags and they were partially frozen.  I picked up two of them to take with me.  Somehow they were supposed to assist in travel.  When I reached the center of town, the main pathway was blocked.  I briefly considered taking a side path, but the side path looked dangerous for some reason, like it was a good place to become a victim.  I pulled up a map, perhaps on my phone.  The location I was trying to get to was clearly labeled “Saints”.  Somehow I knew the roads should all converge at the end, but on the map the side path ended at a dead end.  After considering this path, I turned back to the main path which was now clear and passable.  I followed this path to my destination.  When I got there I opened one of the bags with the puppy inside.  I thought it would take time to thaw but it was very warm and cuddly.  I remember thinking I didn’t need the other bag, but I felt bad about leaving the puppy inside the bag, so I decided I would pay whatever the rental fee was and opened up the bag to another warm puppy.

After this, I was at a place where people worked.  There was this girl, she had bruises all over her arms but she didn’t seem to mind.  I noticed that she was topless but it seemed perfectly  normal to her.  Then I recognized her as someone who I had slept with before.  I was instantly worried about how this would present a temptation for me because I am now married.  In my dream I realized I had slept with this girl before I was married but apparently engaged.  I felt this overwhelming sense of guilt and concern over how this would affect my wife.

I have had dreams about being unfaithful to my wife.  As I searched for meaning in these dreams I have discovered it is often connected to a concern about being a good husband.  I love my wife and I am so grateful for my marriage covenants.  It is my fondest desire to honor those marriage covenants until the day I pass from this life.  I think I recognize in this last part of my dream a warning not to seek for visual stimulation from other women or pictures of other women.  The obvious subject here is pornography, but I have struggle with this and actively worked to expel its influence from my life.  I think the message here for me was that even the image of a beautiful woman, be it in tight clothing or swimwear, used as an object of lust can also have a detrimental outcome.

This is the first dream I have ever had where I felt like there was a true element of revelation in it.  I believe I have had other revelatory dreams, but this is the first one I can remember really recognizing it.  We always have different paths to chose from, but some of those paths don’t take us where we want to go, even if we think it can.  I’m not sure about the frozen puppies.  Maybe it is a symbol of something we carry with us that can be freed when we reach our destination, or perhaps it symbolizes other people we can take with us even though they may not be on the same path as us at that moment.

I am so grateful for a loving heavenly father who guides me.  Even when I get off track, he is there to remind me of what I really want, what I am working towards.