alexander pope

Soon an idea began to take shape. I could go out into the world, wherever it made sense to go, and some places that perhaps it did not, and find out what happened to our jetpacks. I mean, is this the future or is it not? And as a serious bonus, perhaps my quest would lead me to someone who could still make the dream come true. Some might not consider it on par with the stuff of Michelangelo or Mozart, but it was something I thought I could do.

alexander pope

Flying fantasies confront us at every turn. And there is evidence it’s been this way for a very long time. A recent fossil discovery revealed that the first mammals capable of gliding flight lived many millions of years ago. The fossil in question belongs to a Chinese squirrel-like creature, which possessed a stretchy membrane between its front and back legs that served as wings. Some scientists believe the animal may have lived as long ago as 164 million years, meaning that mammals were taking to the air before birds.

jet pack

Flash forward 164 million years. By the summer of my thirty-fifth year, my life was evidently half over, and I’d come to accept that I was never going to play shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles or be the next Spencer Tracey or Kurt Cobain. That’s when the question was zapped my way like a laser shot from robot eyes: Where’s my jetpack? Whatever happened to what must surely be the greatest promise never kept?

ned washington

BALLERINA DREAMS When you wish upon a star makes no difference who you are, Anything your heart desires will come to you. If your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme. When you wish upon a star as dreamers do … “When You Wish Upon A Star” Lyrics by Ned Washington

angie wyatt

Through dreams, Joseph was able to guide his family through a treacherous journey.  He protected Mary and Jesus from Herod’s desire to kill them.  What could be more threatening!  All along, God was with them.  He guided them to safety and provided for his people.  Today, God continues to speak to people through dreams.  He offers guidance and encouragement.  And, He helps us know and understand His true heart.

angie wyatt

In fact, Matthew 2, which chronicles part of the Christmas story, mentions four accounts of dreams.  The scene starts with King Herod who wants to kill the infant Jesus.  Herod meets the Wise Men who are following a star to find Jesus.   He tells them to bring back the news so that he can also worship Jesus.  But, the Bible says, “having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”  The story immediately adds, “When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.  Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’”  Joseph stayed with his family in Egypt until Herod died.  Then, in another dream, an angel tells him,  “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”  So, he packed up his family and headed to Judea.  When he heard that Herod’s son was reigning there, he decided to take a new route.  The Bible tells us, “Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.  So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that (Jesus) would be called a Nazarene.”

angie wyatt

After Mary conceived Jesus, an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream saying, “Do not be afraid to take to Mary for your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” Because Joseph heard God, he remained engaged to Mary despite her pregnancy and he married her shortly after Jesus’ birth.  Joseph continued to have dreams throughout Jesus’ early childhood.  These God-given dreams helped Joseph protect his family from a hostile situation that threatened their lives.