Swimming Raft and Flower Crowns (vision)

      I see you standing on a swimming raft in a lake (see picture below: it's pretty much a wooden platform floating in a lake). The wind circles around you, blowing your hair in your face and bringing you chills. You begin to spin in circles, kind of dancing in the wind. But you are hesitant to really dance with the wind and let loose because you fear falling into the water. The wind continues to blow; gusts are getting stronger--their force is moving you about on the platform. You get dangerously close to being pushed into the water by the wind. Finally, you decide you will dive in. Rather than being forced in, you choose to (it allows you to prepare yourself for the shock of the cold water and to land properly in the water). You put your hands together over your head, lean forward, and dive into the dark water. You brace yourself for extreme cold and are surprised to find that it is not as cold as expected. You are also surprised at yourself with your lack of fear--you have no fear of drowning or other creatures in the lake, and you do not fear becoming lost in the lake.
      You swim to the shore. You shake your head and water goes flying--your hair is instantly dry, as are all your clothes, which have changed (on the platform, you had been wearing a sweatjackt and jeans with red Converse--now you are wearing a white, flowing dress and are barefoot). You sit cross-legged a ways from the shore in a patch of tiny white flowers. You pick many flowers and begin to weave yourself a crown out of these flowers. As you do this, new flowers grow rapidly in their place--bigger and bolder-colored flowers. Also, children start coming and sitting around you. They gather in a circle, all sitting-cross-legged-- just like you-- and leaning forward, heads propped on their hands, watching you intently.
      You have finished the crown you were working on and give it to one child. Then you pick more of the tiny white flowers and make more crowns. Eventually, you have made enough crowns for all the children. Each child then picks a flower--these are the newer, bigger, bolder flowers. They hand you these flowers and you weave them into a crown. You ask "Whose crown is this?: One child stands up, takes the crown from your hands, and places it on your head. All of you stand in a circle, clasp hands, and dance in a circle (something like "Ring Around the Rosy" but without the song). Once again, the wind begins to blow as you dance with the children.

My Interpretation...

      The first part reminds me of John 3:5-8,11-13. "Jesus answered, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit...Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?'"

       When I read "born of water and Spirit" I think of baptism of each. Also, He says that you can't discredit the spiritual world because you can't see it--You can't see the wind, but you can feel its effects. Another aspect of the wind that is true of God: you can't see where it comes from or where it will be going.

      When you were on the swimming raft, you had to make a conscious decision to dive in and be "baptized" in a sense. Nothing could force you to do that. You had thought you were free until you say how limited you actually were on the raft.

      You emerge from the water in new clothing--you aren't your old self anymore--in a way, you are a new creation. You were wearing a white, flowing dress--what I see as a symbol of purity and honesty/integrity. The barefeet make me think of freedom. The patch of white flowers--purity, life, and growth. The children are your ministry (I know how much you already love teaching and being around kids); this vision can be an affirmation to you that you were meant for teaching kids. The children came to you and, first, imitated the way you acted, then eagerly and intently watched you. You passed on crowns to them that you put love and care into--crowns made from life, purity, and growth. In the end they gave you a crown of blessings--the flowers that had grown as a result of picking the flowers for the children's crowns. The vision ends with everyone dancing in freedom with the Spirit.