Sabbath Born: Reflections of a Reluctant Prophet [Paperback]

Raised on a farm in Eastern Arkansas—the second of four boys—Britt Skardawas a Methodist minister for 33 years, serving churches in North Carolina and Arkansas. Frequently throughout those years, Skarda has served as the principal speaker for youth, college, and conference events, including a gathering of the bishops of the South-Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church. A graduate of the University of Central Arkansas and Duke Divinity School, Skarda has been married to his wife, Karen, for 48 years and is now father of three and grandfather of four.

Flying and Falling
Based on Genesis 9: 18-29

Dreams are those images, ideas, and emotions that occur during what is scientifically known as the REM—rapid eye movement—stage of sleep. All of us dream, though we remember very few of our dreams. Most of us accept the Freudian idea that dreams offer insight into our hidden desires and emotions. In other words, different dreams mean different things depending on our state of mind. For example, the dream of flying—soaring high above the earth—touching the stars—swooping and diving—symbolizes liberation from our worries by rising above the fray. The dream of flying is joy-filled.

The dream of falling, on the other hand, can be disturbing. Falling in real life is not something we choose to do, and yet it happens from time to time. When we fall, we feel embarrassed. We look around to see if anyone is watching. Dreams of falling symbolize anxiety and helplessness, of being pushed beyond our comfort zone.

And then there are those dreams that involve both flying and falling. In these dreams, we soar high above the clouds on eagles’ wings, but then we plummet to earth and crash. Dreams of flying and falling symbolize our fear of losing everything we’ve worked so hard to gain, a loss of control.

When I think of flyilc'