Beautiful Valley The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou annointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Psalm 23, King James Version

Janine C. Hagan, Editor I dreamed this scripture years ago while I was recovering from surgery. This is the older version that I memorized as a child. Only I did not dream the “words” per se. Rather, I knew that I was inside the dream and that the images that I was seeing were part of the “scene” of the 23rd Psalm. I have never forgotten that dream.

I am always grateful that I was encouraged to memorize that scripture. If I had not, what other images would have filled my dreams during a traumatic time? For in sleep, our unconscious is able to heal or bring something important to our conscious mind. How can that healing take place if our hearts and our memories are “empty,” or tote around worthless images in terms of our soul/spirit? And healing is what is needed in order to find those “green pastures” so that we can relax-into-God.

Green in dream color symbolism, depending upon the tone or hue, stands for life and for growth. A true green in our dreams is a good symbol for whatever is associated with that color. The pastoral setting is a wonderful image of God’s grace and care and the hope and promise of life-with-God which moves throughout this psalm. It is a lifelong concept for us to carry in our hearts as our dreams and inner voice of sacred symbols help us to grow, spiritually. For it is our goal as Christians to mature and prepare our hearts to “dwell in the house of the Lord, for ever,” and we can practice discovering that promise when we live with the soul of scripture in our dreams.

May this summer bring us all a new appreciation of caring, comfort, grace, and spiritual growth.

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Janine@ecumininet.com

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