I don’t usually pay too much attention to my dreams. They are weird and often uncomfortable. Recently, however, I had a dream that I couldn’t ignore. A dream with a recurring theme.

A construction site with detours often appears in my dreams. I always end up at either a dead end of sorts or a road with rough terrain. Sometimes the end of the road is literally an end that drops off into a hole with the road beginning again on the other side of the hole; sometimes others are following me (not in a creepy way). The dreams are always different, but have that same theme of construction and a detour leading to nowhere.

The Dream

A couple weeks ago, I had another dream with the same theme. I was traveling on a road and encountered a construction zone. At first I thought I was going to get stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere again, but the construction zone morphed into a smaller construction area that allowed traffic to go around rather than sending everyone on a big detour. The road changed to a rural road with black ice.

My dad was driving our old 1981 Volkswagen Vanagon in that moment. He was slipping around a lot, so I asked to take over. I was slipping around some too until we reached a pile of small boulder-size rocks blocking the road. The right side of the road was a wall of mountain, while the left side was the edge of a cliff. The rocks blocking the road were also covered in ice, but I could see a bit of a path that we could work our way through. The path led us to the edge on the left. We couldn’t stop before we fell onto a wide ledge below the cliff face.

The ledge had a decently even dirt road leading next to the cliffside down to a plateau where people parked while they watched the scenery. It was essentially a dead end that didn’t interest me or feel right. The cliff face from the ledge to the road was maybe 20 feet. Not a massive drop, but much too far to get the car up to the road. I stood there wondering what to do.

The Potential Interpretation

This dream bothered me more than usual, so I shared it with my daughter. Her first thoughts when I was describing the dream was Lehi and Nephi’s dream of the iron rod. For those who are unfamiliar with the dream, I’ll give a quick summary.

A prophet dreamed about an iron rod leading to a beautiful tree with the most wonderous and appetizing fruit. Off to the side was a river and beyond the river was “a great and spacious building”. In the great and spacious building were people who partied like frat boys. Many of them were pointing and making fun of those who were heading to the tree. Surrounding the iron rod was a black fog too thick to see through. Some people were walking near the rod without holding on, while others were lost in the darkness.

The main symbols of the vision represent: the tree was the Tree of Life, the iron rod was the gospel, and the great and spacious building was the world of men. The plateau in my dream specifically brought the great and spacious building to my daughter’s mind. The question that was left was to decide how to get back to the road—the iron rod.

What was the first thing she said when I expressed how I didn’t want to go down to the plateau? “Then climb.” I had not even thought to climb out because I needed the car. Her response about what to do when I got back to the road? “So walk.” Those were such easy answers, regardless of the difficulties that would come from following her suggestions. The climb would not be long, but it would be hard. I didn’t know for sure if the road would still be covered in ice when I reached the top. I would have to leave everything behind and take the hard way.

The Application

I think I know what the plateau and the climb represent, but it’s not easy to follow through. Who wants to take the hard way and climb—even if it is only 20 feet? I prayed hard and received my answer. Life According to Gribble was my answer. This blog was what I was prompted to start with. So here I am sharing my literal dreams with you!

So What’s My Point?

The point I would like to make is the fact that I think we all know that the easy way is not always the right way. I have many projects to work on. My novel editing business needs a big push. My home needs to be decluttered and actually unpacked so it doesn’t hold me down like it does now. There are several anthologies I would like to participate in; one of which will be with my writer’s group. I also need to revise my novel and get it published by the beginning of November.

None of those things are as simple as they might seem to some of you. I will need to approach each project with careful consideration and the knowledge that it will all be very hard. I will simply need to remember the dream and take the hard way. Not advice many would receive. This, however, is what I have been telling myself over the last couple of weeks. Each time it gets hard to get up and do what I know I need to do, I tell myself, “Remember the dream and take the hard way.”

Some of you might also be in extremely challenging turning points. You might not need to take the hard way, but it could be the better way in the end. If what I feel is correct, the hard way up to the road will be relatively short at this point.

I don’t know what will happen once I get there. I could encounter ice or clear roads. Maybe I will find myself alone, missing the companionship of those I had to leave behind to climb on their own, or I could be surrounded by others who are ready to give me a hand up the rest of the way. It would be fantastic if they had a car so I didn’t have to walk, but the peace of walking for a while could be refreshing and help my mental health. In the end, I need to find a way for myself.

Your lives will be different. Just remember, it’s okay to take the hard way if that is the direction you need to go to get back to the road. Remember your own dreams and take the hard way if that is the right way.