Dream- Hôtel Dieu for Women!

Do You Ask God To Guide You? 

Each night I ask God to send me insights into what he wants me to do. God has spoken to people through dreams for centuries. Sometimes I remember my dreams, sometimes I don't.
Last night, I fell asleep shortly after 1:50 am.  I had a huge dream in a few minutes, a dream so big that when I awoke, I wondered if I had slept an entire day, and was surprised to discover it was only 2:05 am Friday morning. I'd slept less than 15 minutes! While I don't quite remember the entire dream, one thing did stand out in it.
I'll begin there.

Refurbished Homes by Refurbished People - Refurbishing Lives

In the dream, I was in the kitchen of a house on Sussex Street in Lindsay that I'd been to see that day. I was supervising the remodelling of the kitchen and wondering why the work triangle had been distorted in such a way in the first place.
"Obviously whoever designed this kitchen was not a cook," I grumbled mentally. "Why on earth did they place the sink around the corner from the refrigerator, and against a cold outside wall where the lighting is so poor? It must have happened when they attempted to add the downstairs bath," I thought. "What was the original layout of this kitchen?" I mused, trying to put together the cheapest remodel that would make the kitchen functional.

"Well, " I said to the plumber standing behind my right shoulder "We could put the sink where the dishwasher is, the plumbing is already there. Could we just swap them?" 

Room at the Inn

Room at the Inn? Hôtel Dieu for Women

The phone was ringing in the front office. I walked through the dining room where a group of women were deep in discussion around a large table to the right. Then passed a smaller group of women seated on comfortable black tub chairs around a small round table on my left. I grabbed the cordless phone and walked out the front door to the wrap around porch to avoid disturbing the classes in the front office and living /dining room.
A young woman needed a bed.

"Is there room at the Inn?" a cheery voice chuckled.
"When is she due?" I asked jotting a note. "Uh... huh, yes we are fairly close to the hospital. Can you send her over? We're in a bit of a meeting right now, so it may be about an hour before we can pick her up. Hmmm... OK, please let her know we'll be there as soon as possible." 

I re-entered the house through the kitchen door and to face our motley crew. Skilled tradesmen - all of them, but none able to work for extended periods of time. A kitchen remodel like this would need real team work - it could bring them together or push them apart.
"God can use all things for good," I reminded myself. "Was this to be the beginning of something bigger?" Iwondered. The phrase Refurbished Homes By Refurbished People came into my mind.Was this the reason for this motley kitchen layout?

The Kitchen Remodel

True, the kitchen had everything a cook needed, but the layout was a hindrance. We could get so much more done if we had a proper work triangle.
The washroom, tucked around the corner, interfered with the kitchen work as well. Could it be shifted to the opposite corner, to reduce traffic from the side door and back door?
The plumber gestured with his hand.
The new kitchen took shape before my eyes. A pass-through to the living room with a breakfast bar, would open the house up, make it more welcoming, and keep the cooks part of the team. Move the fridge and stove to the back wall, the dishwasher to the right of the sink - no more trails of drips across the floor, and a set of pass-through cupboards and drawers to the right of that and above for ease of table setting.
"Yes," I agreed.adding" That bath really needed to be moved. Pregnant women, and older women need QUICK access to a washroom, not run a gauntlet of people running back and forth from the sink to the dishwasher, fridge to counter." I nodded approvingly. Apparently we'd been working for quite some time with this layout.
"Could we, perhaps, add a second powder room to the back kitchen?" I asked.

The Back "Kitchen" - Workroom

Now I was in the the back kitchen.  It hummed with the chatter of mums making clothes for their little ones, some past residents, some visitors, some  - current shy newbies with large watchful eyes. Four tiny garments hung as samples on a "clothesline" on the wooden wall between the two windows. Clothes for refurbishing were stacked on a wood laminate bookshelf by colour - shirts, pants. A huge natural wicker basket of soft wool, crochet hooks, knitting needles stood between the laminate bookshelf and the left window. The intermittent hum of three sewing machines came from the back left corner.
Two women stood at a table to the right with an olfah mat and cutter. "Make Two - Leave One." the sign read above the table read. They were cutting 5 outfits at a time in a stack.
Love was written on the walls - Love is.. gentle, kind.. .. The words appeared to be burned in script into the walls - the "Love is" flickering with blue and yellow tiny flames.
I looked though the left back window into the garden.

The Garden

Bees buzzed around a hive, in the right back corner. The garden blossomed with food and edible flowers. Every inch of space possible was used. A trellis with rambling roses scented the air. The rose hips would be picked for tea rich in vitamins and minerals.
A tiny recirculating fountain splashed.
Butterflies flitted.
Two children hopped from paving stone to paving stone singing the words engraved in them. "Yes, Jesus loves me!" The black paving stones were each about 18 inches long and 10 inches wide, and looked to be natural rock.
Two more kinders planted seeds at a small table tucked into the right corner by the house. Another couple of pre-schoolers chatted together, on a natural stone patio lending their voices to tiny wooden animals marching them in and out of a wooden boat.
Three "mums" were in the garden: a young expectant mum on a grey painted wooden garden bench knitting; two more mums inspecting the produce and planning dinner - one middle aged the other very senior. The senior mum had a thin face and wore her long white hair in a bun.

Dream Change: Scene 2

Next, it seemed I was in a whirlwind of activity - planes and airports, flying over Canada, from home to home - Intergenerational homes for women where God could bind up the broken places and they could catch their breath and heal. Hôtel Dieu for Women: A place for women to breathe, whether for an afternoon, a day or a season, a place for women to be. These were places where women could breathe, and see themselves through the eyes of Christ. Places for women to be restored to their important intended paths for increasing God's Kingdom. Women - so many faces appeared in the sky, thousands it seemed. So many! I felt a pang at not being able to remember all the names.
Even time on the plane was busy: Writing notes, crocheting, checking the website, Skyping into conference calls. So many faces.

Dream Change:Scene 3

Now I was very old, frail, too ill to get out of bed.
A young girl with long straight black hair  came towards the bed from the left."What can I get you Mum?' Would you like a peppermint tea?"
 I nodded.
"My daughters aren't here." I thought with a pang, "Yet this girl calls me Mum."
I tried to place her name.
"Lord take care of my children," I thought.
"Sing"In the Garden" please," I asked. Closing my eyes, I breathed the scent of the roses.

@>-- ---<@

The TV blared suddenly. "A Place for Miracles" was blasting on the screen.
I glanced at the clock - 2:05 am but what day? Had I slept an entire day? Quickly I checked the date online.
No, I'd only slept 15 minutes - but what a lifetime I'd dreamt!
"Well, Lord," I thought, "If this is what you mean for me, I'm here.
Put it in place.
 I'm only alive, because of Your Grace, and I'm only a steward of Your Resources."

May God Bless you,
Suzanne
Thanks for reading!
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