Last night I dreamt myself into a cozy little venue where an amazing magician (Jeff McBride) captivated and stunned the audience by waving his hand over sand in which his name miraculously appeared. Holding his hands front and back out to the audience, he suddenly turned them palms forward to reveal the name of the Eternal radiating from them in day-glow colors. I gasped, falling forward in awe-struck delight, filled with love and peace and deep knowing.

After the show, I asked him if he would let me see that trick again. He smiled and, gracious as ever, waved his hands over the sand. His name again appeared. He then turned his palms toward me with a flourish, and with a twinkle in his eye, and I saw again that which had so delighted me. And I knew it to be Divine Love.

“Nice, huh?”, he said. “Well the point of this is to let you know NOT to write your name in sand. Choose something permanent. Something that will last. Something on which many can stand. And use those hands of yours to reveal to others that which IS eternal.”

Both directives I’ve been struggling with for quite some time, challenging myself to recognize and re-direct those pesky urges for trivial, immediate gratification and to actively connect with Divine Love (so I, as a minister, can talk about it with integrity).

Since it’s so very easy to get distracted I appreciate reminders like this dream. I welcome this dream particularly, because it shifts focus to “the hands” – as opposed to the “the words” I might speak.

I like that. It’s who you are and how you put your love into action that matters – not how skillfully you may be able to speak of love.