Rector’s Blog, The Phone Call - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

When I woke up I felt peace. And then I never told anyone this happened. Because I was not interested in sounding unhinged. And I'm still not interested in that, so I still rarely share this story, and certainly am not sure how I feel about telling you here. I feel compelled to tell you that I do not normally hear voices, claim clairvoyance, or converse with the dead - though I'm not opposed to any of these things. My dad was also neither the first nor the last person I loved who died - though he's certainly the one to whom I'm the closest. He's the one I know and love the best. I find it interesting that there are multiple occasions in Scriptures when mystical, divine things happen in the midst of dreams. It's like God is deliberately leaving room for plausible deniability. Did Joseph really have those visions of himself as ruler, or was he just being cocky? Did Abraham really enter into a covenant with the Almighty, or was that just a story he told to justify his far-fetched hopes? Did Jacob really wrestle with God or was that just a metaphor for psychological struggle? Did Phil's dad really call him on that dream phone to say goodbye, or was this just a way to cope with unspeakable grief? Everyone outside of the dream is free to believe it is a flight of fancy. But in the sacred stories, the dreamer wakes up transformed and convicted.