The exact dates of my dreams fade from my memory fast, but not the dream itself. Fortunately, I posted this one on the internet shortly after I had it. That's the only reason I remember it occurred in December of 2006. If I've understood the symbolism correctly, and if it's truly divinely inspired, the church is in for a heavy shearing, but don't despair. It will be survive and thrive again: I was dressed in dirty work clothes and carrying an old shovel. Apparently, I was employed as a landscaper for Pope John Paul II (who in real life had died the previous year). We were standing outside a 70's style ranch house, my childhood home. The pope wore white robes and he was accompanied by a middle aged man in red robes. The man in red was stocky with a full face and five o-clock shadow (I think he had on glasses, but some of the details about him have grown fuzzy). The pope and the man in red seemed concerned with the condition of a shrub that was struggling in the front yard. I didn't hear what they were saying, but the pope waved me over to have a look. By outward appearance, except for one sprout with golden yellow leaves rising over a tangle of leafless branches, the bush looked dead. I gave the stem with the leaves on it a yank, and unexpectedly, the entire bush, roots and all, came out of the ground. I didn't think to mention this detail when I originally recorded the dream, but I knew on sight that the roots were still alive and knew not to give up on it. So I placed the root ball back in the hole, filled it with dirt, then tamped around it with my boot. Next, I snipped off the live shoot and advised Pope John Paul II to shear the entire shrub down to the ground. He seemed to hesitate at the suggestion, but I assured him that it would grow back better than before. A severe pruning would result in a healthier shrub in the end. The pope seemed to be coming around to the suggestion, but wasn't quite convinced. He proceeded to point to the lower branches of the tree, where the branches were gnarled and extra dry. He wondered if if the base would look ugly like that when it grew back. I told him yes. He wanted to know for how long. I'm not that knowledgeable about gardening in real life, but I seemed to know what I was talking about in the dream. I told the pope that once that bush started growing again only a little bit of the ugly base would show, but that it would show for a long time. I remember my five-year-old daughter was sleeping with me the night of the dream because I had painted her bedroom earlier in the day and the fumes were still strong. My husband worked 3rd shift and wasn't home. The dream is rather simple, mundane even, but it felt significant. With all that's going on, the falling away of the faithful, the growing hatred for Christianity in general, the many scandals, I can imagine that things are going to get much worse for the church. But this dream gives me hope that God will use these many trials to cut off the dead wood to make room for vigorous new growth.
It most certainly was prophetic, no doubt about it. How wonderful . Interesting it mentions Pope St John Paul. I am rather afraid of hearing more about his role in some of this. Hopefully he is entirely innocent. But I do wonder if he might have taken a firmer hand. Still he was ill with Parkinson's and he also got shot and was very old. So maybe he just couldn;t hack it; like Poor Pope Benedict.
