Lèirsinn

He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Genesis 28.12

Elder daughter Christina and I enjoyed some Blàs, the music festival which is adorning the west highlands at the moment featuring traditional and contemporary musicians from all over Scotland and beyond. Last night's double bill featured multi-instrumentalist Ewen Henderson and guests, presenting his award-winning project, Lèirsinn (Vision). During lockdown, Ewen passed the time time imagining journeys to various locations in the Hebrides and Highlands and wrote tunes for them. When it was permissible to travel again, he visited the same places and wrote a second piece about each, inspired by actually being there. Last night's concert brought together the pairs of tunes from several of these journeys, imagined and real.

Accompanying the gorgeous music was Ewen's eloquent reflection on the power of imagination and how it operates even when we are physically present. It made me think about the occurrence of dreams in the Bible and their continuing influence on believers today, particularly those who are under pressure because of their faith. One shouldn't be surprised; God created the ability to see beyond our current constraints. How shall we apply that amazing gift, in the context of our own circumstances and enabled by our own gifts?