He was in a pickle. Carl wanted to go outside but he was afraid if he did so, he would miss out on something. A treat, a chance to lay in front of the fire, or the attention that he always craves. So instead of crawling through the doggy door to the world, he stood in the middle of in and out.
Most of our lives we are in the middle of here or there, beginning or ending, or like Carl, in and out. And while we stand in this position of limbo, we have a decision to make. Do we finish the task that is given to us or do we lay it down and settle for where we are.
Joseph was caught in the middle. He had fallen in love with a young woman named Mary and planned to marry her. It was what romance novels are made of. A young couple with their lives full of potential and hope for a life without troubles.
But the script didn’t call for smooth sailing ahead. Instead, Mary dropped the bombshell. She was pregnant. And Joseph knew it wasn’t his. The problem was that he knew what would happen to Mary if word got out that she was with child. So as he was thinking about how to make the problem go away, he had a dream.
This wasn’t an ordinary night of slumber. This particular time of sleep would change Joseph’s life and in the end, change the outcome of eternity for all humanity.
As we stand in the middle of this dilemma, let us consider what we would do. As for Carl, he decided to stay inside and find a comfortable spot on the couch. And as I write, he has slipped into his own dream world.
