So, here's one for you. I recently read that people suffering from restless leg syndrome (RLS) sometimes gain relief by putting a small bar of hand soap under their bed mattress, or under their fitted sheet at the foot of their bed.
As my wife suffers from RLS, we decided to try it. Once the soap was placed, I checked to make sure we hadn't inadvertently opened a door to darkness, and after some time of prayer, felt there was nothing amiss.
Interestingly, my wife began sleeping more comfortably that very night, but I started having weird dreams. After about a week of this, we removed the soap and my wife's discomfort started to return while my weird dreams stopped.
While praying about all this, we came up with a thought. Could it be that putting the soap at our feet at the base of our bed was actually a statement to the LORD that we want to have clean feet? Were we actually inviting the LORD to cleanse us with Hyssop?
(Psa 51:7 – NASB+) Purify2398 me with hyssop231, and I shall be clean2891; Wash3526 me, and I shall be whiter3835a than4480 snow7950.
So, we decided to put the soap back at the foot of the bed, but this time, we would put it between us (it had been on my wife's side before) and we both slept more comfortably that evening.
In fact, as I went to sleep that night, I felt what I would have to describe as a gentle washing/draining out through my feet; and I actually had a dream/vision of 'dirt' and 'grime' being washed off of both of us during the night.
And in case all that isn't enough to get you scratching your head, try this idea: When the soap was on my wife's side of the bed, she was being 'cleansed' and I was picking up the 'stuff' being drained off of her; and hence the 'weird' dreams. When we put the soap in the middle, I too was being cleansed and slept more comfortably, instead of just 'picking up' what she was being 'cleansed' of in the night seasons.
So with these interesting events going on (to say the least), I'm pondering some things:
What is the nature of a symbol?
What 'power' or 'meaning' does it intrinsically have (if any)?
What 'power' or 'meaning' do we intentionally or unintentionally give to symbols?
Does a symbol still have 'power' or 'meaning' if you don't know what the symbol represents?
Can you decide for yourself what the symbol means and have it operate as that even if it has had a different meaning before you started interacting with it?
