The
story of the dreamer is one of drama, suffering, hope, dreams, and destiny. I
don’t think I can identify with Joseph directly. In the sense that, well, I
don’t have 10 brothers that want to kill me. Joseph was one of his father’s
favorite sons. His brothers hated him because of that. Then Joseph had dreams.
Big dreams. Dreams that seemed crazy to his brothers. Dreams that made Joseph’s
brothers feel even more hatred and jealousy, than what they felt because of
their father’s favoritism towards him. They thought Joseph thought he was
better than them. When Joseph tells them of his dream, these feelings grew
stronger. Note: Joseph never told his brothers he was better than them, never
flaunted anything in front of them, never (from what I’ve read) says anything
to indicate that he is outright better than them. Here was this “kid” (Joseph
was 17 years old at the time), who has a dream about him and his brothers
binding sheaves (stalks of cut or harvested grain that have been bound together).
In the dream, Joseph sees his sheaf rise and stand upright, while his brothers’
sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to it. After he told his brothers
this, his brothers said “Do you intend to rule over us? Will you actually rule
us?” I’m pretty sure a bit of hostility increased in his brothers’ heart there
(just a little). First, their father favored Joseph, and then he tells them
that he had a dream where their sheaves bow down to his. Joseph has a second
dream and proceeds to tell his brothers: “..the sun and moon and eleven stars
were bowing down to me.” Joseph also told his father about this dream and his
father rebuked him and said, “Will your mother and I and your brothers
actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” I’m pretty sure they
thought he was cray cray. Here is this kid who has these huge dreams and he
innocently tells his family about them, and his father even rebukes him and
tells him, you really think that’s going to happen?! Come on now, Joseph, stop
eating before going to sleep. That’s obviously what’s causing these crazy
things to come up in your brain. (Lisette Version) On a
personal level, I’ve felt that way. At the beginning, I said I couldn’t relate
to Joseph because I don’t have 10 brothers that want to kill me. Well, I CAN
relate to him in this sense, I have BIG dreams. Sometimes, I will think things
or see things in my head, and I actually think to myself, “Girl, you crazy. How
will you get there? Do you actually think THAT’S going to happen?” I, myself,
act like Joseph’s brothers and father. It’s scary to have dreams that, you
feel, are so much bigger than you. But it happens, and when it happens, there
are people that will tell you that you’re crazy. That you don’t know what
you’re talking about. I find it interesting to note that Joseph didn’t really
refute what his brothers and father said. He stayed quiet. In the silence, God
moves. God speaks for us, so we don’t have to. Don’t get me wrong, there are
times when we will have to speak up and defend ourselves and the God dream He
has put in our hearts. But, there are times when God will speak for us, and he
may not actually speak through words but rather through how and where He takes
us, in life. He speaks volumes in the silence. He speaks volumes in the
process. Just learn when and how to learn, wait, and listen.
Love
Always,
Lisette
P.S.
Part 2 of “The Dreamer” coming soon!