Do You Remember Your Childhood Dreams?

Once upon a time in a state not-so-far away, a little girl slowly proceeded down the stairs of her home. She appeared to be riding something quite imaginary. A blanket was draped over her head, flowing softly over her arms. A toy sand bucket secured it upon her head, plastic strap anchored under her chin. Another blanket was wrapped around her, belted with her daddy’s tie. She had an audience of one, her mother, amusingly grabbing her nearby camera, trying to stifle the giggles.

That didn’t bother her. In her vivid imagination, the audience was much larger. And they were here because they needed to know, needed to feel the wonder, needed to experience the story of the coming of the Savior. The depths of God’s love for us. And this little girl took her role very seriously… although she didn’t look serious. She was Mary, the mother of Jesus, travelling down a hillside on her way to Bethlehem, and she was radiant, because she knew that the Messiah was almost here.

Over the next couple of years, that little girl took part in many theatrical productions within the boundaries of her little home, enlisting her younger brother as needed. Once her cousins visited from a far-off state, and the little girl’s theatre company doubled in size! As the oldest and wisest she had the opportunity to boss the younger ones around be the lead actress, playwright, producer, director, and narrator in a full-scale production for the bemused audience of her mother, father, uncle and aunt.

The little girl had one other pastime that made her feel totally and completely alive. Singing. Oh, she loved to sing and sing and sing. She drove her parents and nearly everyone else who ever knew her nuts when she was only three, as she would only sing her favorite song: The Mickey Mouse Club theme song! She experimented with different tones and keys (not that she really knew when she was on-key or off). She sang in front of the box fan to hear how her voice would vibrate while she sang.

Her parents were quite thankful, even if only for their sanity, when Jesus Christ became more important than Mickey Mouse, and her fondness switched to Sunday School songs. There were a whole array of those she liked, so at that point her family at least had some variety. She would belt out those songs to Jesus with all her heart, and she knew that he loved the sound of her voice.

Finally, at the ripe old age of six, the little girl’s dream came true. Her local church’s children’s Christmas pageant director cast her as Mary. Oh, she had watched other little girls in past years sit up on that stage in the pretty blue garments, holding the little baby doll, and just imagined what it would be like. Now, not only did she get to portray Mary, she got to sing a solo while seated there holding the newborn (doll) baby Jesus, Joseph standing behind her. She was ecstatic, and not the least bit nervous. She had rehearsed this a million times at home, and her imagined audience was so very real to her that a real audience made no difference to her.

To Be Continued...

Until then, please join me in reminiscing. Choose a question, or answer both, cuz I'm just wondering:

• Do you remember any of your childhood dreams?
• As a child, what things (actions, places, people or objects) made you come alive?