I HAD A DREAM LAST night. It was terrifying, mystical and interesting. It happened that in the dream, I saw myself in an institution and in the midst of strangers, who later became my friends and companion. We shared ideas as we walked round the institution. As we strolled down the path, we laughed, smiled and sometimes frowned. At a point, I felt that the group was slowing my pace. I made effort to increase their speed with mine, but that seemed not to be working. I decided to leave them and face my own journey. I do not know where I was heading to, but I felt a mysterious courage leading me.

At a point, I got lost. Fear engulfed me. I looked left, looked right, I did not see anything or building, but tall trees. I turned back just to discover that my friends were not there again. When I looked forward, I saw nothing. I was in the middle of a deep blue sea. I was contemplating on the next action. I did not know whether to run back, to hide or to move forward. I discovered that I did not know the faces of those I was discussing with. I found out that there was no hiding place there; even the trees could not hide me. I was even afraid to shout, so as not to create an alarm. But an inner voice said, “You are not alone, go, I am with you.” As I took a step forward, I woke up immediately. I looked at the wall-clock, it was exactly 5:30 Am.

Wau!!! That was exactly the time I often leave the Parish-House to my place of Pastoral assignment for Morning service; at St. Maria Gorreti Catholic Church, Zabu, Abuja. “I treated Malaria last week, this dream is not ordinary”, I said. It’s mystical because, I woke up naturally at the exact time of departure without any phone alarm. I forget to set my phone alarm before going to sleep and my phone battery was also down, thus, my phone switched itself off in the middle of the night. I plugged my phone that morning, but it refused to charge, so I left it in the charging point, did the sign of the cross and rushed inside the bathroom. There was no water in my bathroom, so I fetched water from the tank outside. The cold was intense, I could not even pour water on my body. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and dressed up for Morning Prayer. I did all these within 10 minutes. I was in haste, so I made sure I did not forget my Sultan, Bible, Prayer booklet and Holy rosary.

I prayed my Rosary as I rushed down the road junction to take a bike. It normally takes 15 Minutes of trekking from the Parish to the outstation. Thus, I only enter bike when I’m late. But to my greatest surprise and disappointment, I did not see a single bike man at the junction. It was exactly 5:45 Am, and our Morning service starts by 6:00 Am, so I speedily trekked to the Church station. The night moon was still shining brightly and it lighted my path. It was a very cold Thursday Morning, but I was sweating heavily due to the tension and dream ideas which were running through my mind.

As I made my way to the Church, I was lost in contemplation. A critical analysis of the dream revealed to me that God’s hand is upon my life. Because if not for the dream, I would have been late for the Morning Service or even still would have ended up not attending the prayer. Thus, God’s hands woke me up when human strength and artificial intelligence failed me (Phone alarm). He called me through dream to fulfill my Morning apostolic responsibility.

Another analysis of the dream revealed that I’m lucky. I would have been immersed in the sweet group discussion, but I did not give room for that. I singled myself out. It was not easy. Along the road, I became terrified. But I learnt that my fear was only a means of testing my faith and courage. Had it been I ran back? Had it been I gave up? Had it been I hid myself or created an alarm? What would have been my faith? Sympathetic I guess. This is an indication that one can never run away from one’s shadow. Grace builds on nature and God helps those who help themselves. I did not give up, and God helped me in my weakness and perfected my imperfection. 

Beloved, sometimes you might find yourself in the midst of people, friends, classmates, age mates and groups who have the same ideology with you. Take caution and never immerse yourself completely in a group. Be wise and never be afraid of making a difference. Be focused and make extra-effort to be great. You are uniquely made, distinguish yourself. You are special, bring in new ideas that will spice up the group or relationship. In their midst, make a positive impact.

Friends can either step you up or down. At a point in my dream state, my friends, especially those whom I trusted wanted to pull me back. Dear reader, many things are out there to discourage and pull you down from your journey to greatness; Women, money, disobedience, pride, wine, family and friends. You will receive insults, pains, disappointment, failures and problems. You might even see yourself walking alone without friends, relatives, and lovers. You might feel like going back, but in all this, never give up. Be prayerful, work hard and persevere. For the fruit of perseverance is honour. Thus, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. After rain comes sunshine. For there is no cross without a crown, neither is there any gain without pain.

Nevertheless, greatness attracts friends, power, love, respect and praise. Friends always surround those who have reached the sky of greatness. Never be afraid or angry when you find yourself alone. In my dream state, as I journeyed towards greatness, at a point I became afraid, I felt what the Spanish mystic and poet St. John of the Cross called, “the Dark Night of the Soul.” I was lost, I was blind but when I conquered the fear, an invisible hand led me towards the goal.

Creative minds; Artists, writers, musicians, poets have confirmed that inspiration comes most when they are alone. They also excel because of the creativity and value they added to their work. Let us not be afraid of making a positive difference. Being unique and special is something golden, pure and holy. Use it wisely. It is never late, start from your comfort zone now by creating novel ideas, risking new actions, exploring and making positive decisions. “Bear in mind that criticism is the bedrock of any creativity.” And may the favour of the Lord rest upon you and establish the work of your hands. Amen.

Thus, my Morning homily was centered on this dream, which also coincided with today’s Bible readings. Though I felt I was late, though the bike men disappointed me, but to my greatest surprise, I was the first person in the Church compound this Morning. I was even the one that opened the Church doors and windows. I unveiled the altar, lighted the candles and started praying the rosary. I was marveled at the number of parishioners that attended service today. The population was twice that of last week. It was a Spirit filled prayer service. Those who were living in fear went home with courage, the mass-minded went home loving their individuality, while the mediocre went home with outstanding and extraordinary features.