More than a moment…

I had a weird dream. A group was holding religious services in the chapel at the conference and retreat center where I work. As part of their worship, they decorated the chapel with a whole lot of kitschy 70’s disco décor. The opening song began as the mirror ball turned and the colored lights danced around the dimly lit walls. Sounding like the Bee Gees, the choir changed the lyrics of their classic song, “More than a Woman”, to “More than a Moment”.

In my dream, I thought how clever it was to enter a space where God dwells and remind everyone that this is not just a point in time, but by God’s grace and presence, expands into infinity and beyond. “More than a moment.”

I write down the few dreams I remember and then write out my best guess as to what I think they mean. Sometimes they’re just a data dump from my cluttered subconscious, but sometimes I believe they come from one of God’s messengers. I wondered about the source of this unusual message. Since I couldn’t make out the lyrics to their opening song, I looked up the lyrics to “More than a Woman” by the Bee Gees. Maybe there would be a clue. Unfortunately, it was a not-too-unusual pop romance song with nothing too deep or inspiring.

One verse, however, stood out, “We can take forever, just a minute at a time.” The message might be for me to slow down and appreciate each minute as if it were a ‘forever’ minute. I should relish the moments God has placed before me, and try to make each a timeless encounter with God.

Probing deeper, I imagined that the words were not being sung by the choir but being spoken by God. “More than a moment. More than a moment to me.” I too often look at my life as one minute following another in a futile march against time, with no clear meaning or purpose. If I consider that God is saying that each has the potential to be “more than a moment to me”, my perspective changes. Time slows down. The moments swell with potential and significance.

I decided to take a few days off and go to Hilton Head Island. Maybe that was the entire message conveyed in the dream. Clear out the clutter in your mind and renew your distracted spirit. Plus, at the beach, I find it’s much easier to savor those sacred moments before they evaporate. Maybe I need some more practice to do this in all phases of my life.

Having distilled such a profound message to the dream, I am still a little baffled as to why it came to me through a “Saturday Night Fever” disco song. Maybe God really does have a sense of humor.

As you go from one moment to the next in your busy day, maybe pause to hear God say to you, “More than a moment to me.”

---

P.S. For those who are now nostalgic for the retro music of the 80’s, here is a link to a Youtube video More than a Woman. Caution, it has ‘earworm’ potential.