Mawwage, that bwessed awwangement; that dweam wivin a dweam...

I had the strangest dream last night. I dreamed that I was getting married at a church that was kind of a cross between the Goulburn and Narwee Baptist churches. The congregation hadn't arrived yet; it might have been the rehearsal, except that I was already in my wedding dress. I saw the guy that I was getting married to, but I couldn't recognise him as anyone I know in real life. The strange part was that I didn't seem to know him very well - it seemed almost like an arranged marriage - so I was a bit nervous and kind of shy, but still happy to be getting married to him.

Tres bizarre!!

A number of years back, I went to a Chris Isaak concert (and no, I'm not embarrassed to admit that I like Chris Isaak!), and Kasey Chambers, who was just starting out in the 'mainstream' at that time, was the support act. She mentioned that her song, 'The Captain', had been described as the least feminist song ever written. This is not very surprising, given the lyrics of the song:

Well I don't have as many friends because
I'm not as pretty as I was
I've kicked myself at times because I've lied
So I will have to learn to stand my ground
I'll tell 'em I won't be around
I'll move on over to your town and hide

Well I have handed all my efforts in
I searched here for my second wind
Is there somewhere here to let me in I asked
So I slammed the doors they slammed at me
I found the place I'm meant to be
I figured out my destiny at last

You be the Captain
And I'll be no-one
And you can carry me away if you want to
And you can lay low
Just like your father and if
I tread upon your feet you just say so
'Cos you're The Captain, I am no-one,
I tend to feel as though I owe one to you

Now, this might surprise those of you who are familiar with my feminist tendencies, but there is something about the picture this song portrays that appeals to me. Not the 'I am no one' part, but the more general idea of taking refuge in a relationship with someone else. Perhaps I'm being weak or lazy, or just pessimistic, when I think that I can't make it through life on my own, but I like the idea of having someone to look after me - someone to watch over me!

I know that I already have someone watching over me, and I know that a relationship with God is more perfect and more satisfying than a human relationship could ever be, but I still long for that special relationship in this life. Again, this might be surprising coming from someone who claims to be some kind of feminist, but I love the way the Bible portrays marriage.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
- Ephesians 5:25-33 (ESV)

That is such a beautiful picture of marriage. Imagine someone loving you as Christ loved the church. Would it be difficult for a woman to submit to a man who loved her like this? Well, yes, I guess it would be. It's hard enough to submit fully to God, let alone to another human with all his flaws.

Last night at church, Mike Frost spoke on the theme of 'Is this as good as it gets?' Obviously, his answer was 'no'. He talked about this passage:

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.
- John 14:1-4 (ESV)

I've heard that passage many times. When I was little, I used to picture heaven as some kind of huge mansion, with lots and lots of rooms. My grandfather died when I was 5, and I remember saying that when I got to heaven, I would knock on all the doors until I found him. (When I was in year 7, though, my scripture teacher ruined my childhood fantasy by telling us that people don't go straight to heaven - they're just kind of asleep until judgement day.)

Mike Frost explained this passage in terms of marriage - something I'd never thought about before, but it makes sense, particularly given all the marriage illustrations used to describe the church's relationship with Christ. It's an incredible thought. Jesus is preparing a place for us in his Father's house - not as siblings or friends, but as his bride. It's just amazing to think about. One day, when the time is right, Jesus will return and take us to be with him; to live with him in that special and exclusive marraige relationship. How awesome is that?! And I love the passage from Isaiah that Mike also quoted:

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth,and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,and her people to be a gladness.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them.
Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain," says the LORD.
- Isaiah 65:17-25 (ESV)

I think that the main reason the biblical picture of marriage seems so beautiful is because it is an illustration of the church's relationship with Christ. Sure, it might be a great thing on earth, but it's only a shadow of the true marriage to come.

It's tempting to view the biblical picture of marriage as an ideal - something that sounds good in theory, but doesn't work out in reality. Sure, if the husband is fulfilling his responsibility to love his wife as Christ loved the church, submission wouldn't be a bad thing, but I guess that's not the right way to look at it. As Christians, we're called to live as God wants us to, regardless of the way others around us live. That's what freaks me out about marriage, but I think I've been rambling long enough for one post!

So why was I dreaming about getting married? Perhaps it's just on my mind lately. Mike Frost's talk at church last night; the fact that so many of my friends are pairing off into couples, getting engaged, and getting married... I'm still single, so I have to keep hoping that this will happen to me in the future!

And why was I dreaming about marrying someone I didn't really know? Perhaps because Mike Frost was talking about arranged marriages (that was the usual procedure in the 1st century, after all!) Perhaps because I don't yet know who I'll end up married to.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter. I don't believe that dreams have a definite meaning. That's fortunate too, because I don't even want to think about what the weird little echidna-cross-daddy long legs spider was supposed to represent!!