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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: DAYDREAM (12/08/16)
Daydreaming! What bliss! The joy I felt as a child to be able to immerse myself in a happy family and live how I imagined normal people lived. Well not quite normal! I was a princess! What little girl doesn’t imagine herself as a princess. In my imaginary family I had an older brother John who protected me from all harm and a younger sister Susan.

We lived in a castle and had the most amazing adventures, inspired by reading the Famous Five books by Enid Blyton. Our mum and dad loved us, it was a good life. If I tried hard I could imagine the arms of my dad around me and the praises of my mum. I entered this life as often as I could.

So very different from my real life with an emotionally abusive mother, angry father, legalistic church and dominating pastor. Every aspect of our life was controlled. What we ate, what we wore, what we read, and where we went.

As I reached my teenage years, the daydreaming persisted, the same dream family, but I was no longer a princess, but a normal teenager, mini skirts replacing the dowdy long dresses that I wore in real life. I wore fashionable short hairstyles and makeup that were considered worldly in my real world.

Love now entered my dream life in the form of a handsome young man nicknamed TQ. I had no idea of romance as our church contained only 3 families, we had no TV and I was not allowed to read romance novels and yet somehow I was able to conjure up the feelings I thought would be associated with romance.

Standing on street corners three nights a week, preaching to the unsaved was particularly painful, especially when girls from school walked past. My answer; leaving my eyes open, I was able to engage my inside eyes and continue my daydreaming as a way of escape. I would be jolted out of my dream when my mother would announce, ‘Your turn to preach Robyn.’ I shudder when I think of those days.

As I reached my twenties my daydreaming started to focus on marriage and children. With no available males in our church I was forbidden to look elsewhere. We were taught from the pulpit that all other Christians would be going to hell except for those in our small church and perhaps others like us around the world who had the truth. This meant other Christian boys were off limits.

I retreated more and more into my daydreaming. Now I dreamed of a red brick cottage, a big tree out the back, a vege patch beside the shed and a rose garden either side of the path leading to the front door. In my mind I redecorated and furnished the house room by room, cooked enticing meals for my husband and one by one welcomed small babies into my family.

At twenty-four I had the courage to walk away from my family and church, risking the possibility of hell and damnation. I was unwilling to take the abuse and control any longer. I met a great young man and the day dreaming stopped. I had a real life now. There was no need to escape from reality as my new found reality was extremely good. Marriage and my new in-laws presented me with a whole new loving family, I saw and experience for the first time how a real family lived and reacted with each other. . My daydreaming had not even touched on the type of happiness that was now mine.

Forty-four years, three children and thirteen grandchildren later, my only daydreams are of my grandchildren between visits. I can shut my eyes and savor every minute of our visits to each family. I daydream of past holidays and future holidays and all is well with my world.

I am ever thankful to God that he came and rescued me from my birth family and gave me more than my daydreams every predicted.
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This article has been read 693 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Sylvia Young
12/22/16
It's a shame that so many so-called religious groups try to scare people into the Kingdom. I'm glad you found love and life in the real world. Congratulations on a well-written piece.
Bonnie Bowden 
12/22/16
Congratulations, Robyn, on your 8th place finish this week.

I'm so glad you had the courage to walk away and start your own daydreams.
Jeremy Kirby
12/23/16
"Daydream" is a wonderful topic and even though you used the topic as your very first word, you did wonderful. I think the act of daydreaming is an act of faith, especially in your case. You reached out spiritually to grab what is yours, just not yet in the material world.
Your faith remained strong and you were blessed with the substance of your dreams. Congratulations on placing in the challenge and most importantly in gaining a wonderful life!
Bea Edwards 
02/16/17
Hoping others in your birth family learned to receive His mercy and grace.