Have you ever paid attention to your dreams during those brief, frenzied periods in life where you are in transition, where you seem surrounded by chaos and too much change all at once? Your head spins from information or sensory overload and your body is fatigued because you are operating in ‘supercharged’ mode, trying to keep afloat and on top of the demands rushing all around you like debris in a tsunami.

Sometimes we may have a dream that brings clarity to our circumstances, giving us a chance to take a breather and dive back in with focus and determination.

Often, however, we experience dreams of release, called flushing dreams. We may have too much on our plate to process and deal with, so that a toxic buildup threatens healthy functioning. We may have seen or experienced something that is grieving us, or we are not able to tackle everything well, and the stress level builds. We may also be standing in the middle of a spiritual battle ground that is disorienting to us.

Flushing dreams cleanse our mind, body, and spirit from the negatives that attach to us and need to be swept away so we can function at our best. Similar to clear, refreshing water poured in us and through us, power-washing away stubborn dirt, until we are left shining and spotless, ready for another day.

Many of these dreams ironically take place in a bathroom, a place we normally visit to deal with and purge ‘stinky’ issues. Toilets flush away waste, showers soothingly soak and bathe us, just like the water of God’s Spirit that purifies and transforms us again and again into presentable, sweet-smelling creatures. We even receive the benefit of flushing dreams to inform us what is happening in the process.

We all get dirty. The harder we work, the dirtier we get. There is nothing wrong with having to deal with a lot of issues in our lives. It means we are making progress, getting involved, making a difference.

And Someone who is much greater and smarter than us loves us and takes care of us when we have a difficult time taking care of ourselves. God’s grace and mercy manifest in his gentle rinsing and disinfecting–empowering us to move forward in life with greater ease.