Dreams, Dad, Distracted

It's funny because everyone always says how Australia is so big, but people often view it like Canada, as though you could see the whole place in a week or something. While I was aware of this common known knowledge, I didn't really realize until I started driving around Australia.

So this is what I've learned: Australia is big. it has a lot of people. It has some pretty big cities.

For some reason I think I've always just picture Australia as a random island with sparse people here and there living in the wild with crocodiles, koalas and kangaroos and running away from oversized snakes and spiders.

To my shock, there are lots of people and civilization! They have cars, tvs, everything. While this may seem funny to you and you might be thinking, "obviously", for some reason I have never pictured it this way even though i know my ideal picture is completely false.

So recently my nice little images have been shattered to bits.

Another thing that I am pleasantly surprised by is how incredible the coast is. The beaches are stunning. And there's a lot of them (obviously, it's an island). And they're not all crocodile ridden or full of killer sharks and jellyfish. Quite nice to swim in and surf on in fact.

So these are the things I'm learning about Australia. Well, I know them before in my head, but now I'm truly learning about them in an experiential kind of way.

Right now I'm at the ywam base in Wollongong. How fun is that to say? Very. I know a bunch of people here, mostly from high school, and funny enough, one from elementary school, so it's been fun to see people and catch up. Great to meet new people too. And they live like five minutes away from a stunning coast, so how can you go wrong, right?

Last night I had two really interesting dreams that I thought I'd share here because one was quite funny and the other quite thought provoking.

In the first, I was getting married. But for some reason, I had forgotten to get a dress, to ask people to be in my wedding party, to invite people and a few other small details I forget. So I wrapped myself in blue wrapping paper as a pseudo wedding dress and as a couple of my friends walked in wearing jeans and t-shirts, I told them to come join the wedding party. It was lovely. Right. I walked down the aisle and then realized that no one I knew was there. So I decided not to get married because I wanted to wait until I could have a huge party with all the people I knew. Morale of the story: When you get married, remember to invite people, and to wear an actual dress.

In my other dream, I was with my dad. Now I dream about my dad fairly frequently and it's always weird when I wake up, because I suddenly remember that he's not alive, yet in the dream it brought me back to a time when he was alive and we hung out. So that's a bit strange to begin with. Anyway, we had a fantastic day together just him and I hanging out and doing some really fun things, essentially really enjoying each other's company. Then we came to this gift shop, and suddenly I needed to buy a bunch of things and that's all my focus was on. And we lost something and that's all I could think about. As we were leaving, my dad was really sad and I was filled with a type of emptiness. And then I realized that he just wanted to spend time with me and I was being completely distracted.

I was struck with how much of a picture this often is of my relationship with God. He just wants to spend time with me. That we can get to know one another and enjoy each other's company. Yet along the way, I become so distracted, looking at what I can attain, whether it be anything from material items to an experience to a picture taken. He wants to experience life with me, not be ignored in certain spots where I lose my focus.

Anyway, those are a couple of the thoughts floating around in my head after a night filled with vivid dreams.

Enjoy the weekend! I will enjoy mine and then will be home very shortly on Monday! Crazy how time has flown!