I had a dream about a month ago. I'm an on-and-off dreamer, and I oftentimes don't remember my dreams. This one is forever etched into my memory.
I was teaching a yoga class, and in walked our baby boy. He was young, maybe three months old, but he walked and talked (totally normal in Ginger's Dream World). I knew he was our baby when I saw him - not as some "Aha!" moment - I just knew. He told me his name was Timon and he wanted to take my class. I told him I'm not allowed to let kids under 12 take my classes (sorry, kiddo! SUCH a good, rule-abiding employee, even in my dreams!) but that he could sit and watch. I was super distracted the whole class, and I remember feeling guilty that I wasn't doing a very good job teaching because of that. At the end, we couldn't find Timon. I wasn't panicked or worried, but we were all looking for him. I knew that the reason he was gone was that it had been his spirit that was there before. The yoga room now looked like a mixture of yoga room and day care with cribs around the perimeter. Eventually, the students left. Micah and I were looking around, and I (knowingly) pulled a zip-loc baggie out from under one of the beds. In the bag were all of the pieces of a puzzle that had been taken apart. The bag was zipped and I had written in Sharpie (as I often do on bags) "Timon." Micah casually asked why I'd put him (the puzzle version) under the bed.
That was the end of the dream. No doubt lots to analyze there, but I woke up thinking, "Wow! Timon (Tih - like Tip - MOHN)." A few hours later, more awake, I was thinking about the dream and I remembered (much to my dismay) that in Lion King - which I haven't seen since around the time it came out many years ago - there is a character with that name. I told God that this was asking a lot, so if it was really something he was asking us to do, I needed him to make it clear by giving me another sign. (I can be kindof demanding sometimes). If Micah and I were choosing, we would have chosen a name that has meaning to us but that isn't super different or quirky - kids have enough to deal with - and our last name is challenging enough! :)
A couple of weeks before this dream, I emailed my friend Cheryl about another dream (about her), and she had encouraged me to keep a Dream Journal, saying that it is a gift to be in touch with my subconscious that way. I haven't started a Dream Journal yet, but her encouragement caused me to take my dreams and my subconscious more seriously, to be more open to listening. Micah and I had a trip planned to see Cheryl and her husband Steve last weekend, so I was super excited to tell her about this - the craziest and most real/memorable dream I've ever had.
On the way out to CO to see them, Micah and I prayed that if God had a name for our son, he would tell us - we said that we wanted to be as open as possible to whatever he had for us.
The next day, sitting at their kitchen table, I told Cheryl and Steve about the dream. Instantly, Cheryl said some version of, "Wow! That's clearly from the Lord!" I questioned her, asking what made her feel that way or if she thinks that anytime someone has a "name" dream about their child, that means it's from the Father. She said no, but that as she heard me speaking it very much felt clear to her that God was speaking to me through this dream. Micah, in those moments, also felt a clear sense for the first time that our baby boy's name is Timon.
We googled Timon (because what else is there to do?!). I had googled it a couple of days after having the dream and saw that it is Greek, and it means "honor" or "honoring God." The classic Greek pronunciation is different, but we're sticking with what was in the dream. While doing our little search, we saw something that I hadn't noticed before...a Bible verse reference.
Acts 6:3-6
The Twelve disciples gathered the other disciples together and told them
"Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom...They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas...They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them."
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had a dream where our child told me his name - a name that I never in my wildest dreams (no pun intended) would have come up with - and it turns out that that name a) means honoring God and b) is in the Bible (in a very subtle way - not one person I've told this to remembers reading that name - it just blends in with all the Procorus' and Nicanors) as the name of a man who is full of the Spirit and wisdom. These are the two things that I would most desire for all of our children. Wow.
Only later did I realize that, through Cheryl, God had given me the 2nd sign that I asked for, using someone who I respect and trust and who has spoken much truth into my life for many years.
That night, I said to Micah, "Now all we need is a middle name!"
To Be Continued...
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