God's hand on my shoulder

The last few months have not been easy in the Bramwell household, and I have found it difficult to hold on to God's peace. While we were away in Hereford this week God gave me a dream which I am holding onto tightly. I hope others will find it helpful too.

I was walking early in the morning. It was spring following a long dreary winter, and the air felt soft on my face. The sea was in front of me with a blue sky and warm sunshine. There were blossoms as I walked along and I saw the beauty and delicacy of their creation. I felt as though a weight was being lifted from me.

Then I was aware of a hand on my shoulder and I knew it was God's hand. It lifted me to a new level of peacefulness, which filtered slowly through my whole body. I woke up, still concious of this feeling of wellbeing, and lay in bed thinking about what a hand on your shoulder can do.

It can indicate caring and support, someone drawing alongside and just sharing in whatever we are experiencing, good or bad.
It can be a guiding hand, gently showing us which way to go, without forcing us; out own built in satnav, that never gets cross if we go the wrong way, but always able to find another route to the desired destination.
It can be a supportive hand that steadies us when the ground beneath our feet is uneven and we stumble.

In my dream God's hand was all these things, and since then, when I have felt that things are a struggle, I recall the dream and say to myself that God's hand is on my shoulder. The journey is easier when you know that God is guiding you and dreams like this reinforce the knowledge that He does guide us if we let him. I continue to try and rely on Him and not myself.

I know that this was my dream and not yours, but I pray that anyone who nneds it and reads this will be aware of God's hand on their shoulder too.