MY EYES OPENED widely in the thick black darkness one silent night. All was still and eerily quiet. But then, "What was that sound?" It was the faint tapping of paws on a wooden floor, followed by deep, muffled breathing with a subtle hint of a growl. Then, a torturous pause. I began to inch the covers over my head. But he knew what I was doing. I felt his hot breath and razor-sharp fangs through the covers.
A vicious dog, or maybe a wolf, the kind that taunts his prey before devouring them, had entered our house and found my room. Should I cry out? I shivered with panic. I knew I didn't have long to live. Frozen, my heart began racing in my throat.
I was only three . . . five years old at the most, too young to die, too weak to defend myself. Somehow, I mustered enough strength to whimper, "Help! Mom!!!"
My mother soon appeared out of the darkness to rescue me. At last, I saw her face to face. “Shhhhhhhhhh,” she softly reassured.
“Don’t be afraid. It’s only a nightmare,” she whispered, taking my hand. "Go back to sleep." I pleaded with her to stay with me lest the beast return. Kneeling by my bed, she stroked my hair until I fell asleep. “Everything will be okay,“ she kept repeating. The daylight came, and there was not one trace of a rabid beast. But Mom was standing over me, smiling.
Bad dreams and even scenes of terror characterize moments in everybody’s journey. They appear in many forms, making it clear that fear is the preferred weapon of our unseen adversary.
Bad things happen alongside the good in everyone’s life. Think of it as a road trip on a winding highway through the varied landscapes of our years from the beginning to the end, divided only by a faded centerline mark. On one side, all seems well. We're just enjoying the ride. The scenery and life are plesant (but we can’t help thinking that some things could be better).
In the other lane, speeding cars and loud trucks barrel toward us and could harm us with only the slip of a hand; things aren't going our way, but they're literally headed opposite to us! If we’re honest, we admit that things could be much worse.
We humans are often fearful and anxious, encountering one upset after another. I don’t have statistics, but I imagine anxiety medications abound in the households of the United States—(whether legal or otherwise). Just listen to the nightly news. So many don't enjoy the journey.
Was our life meant to be one worry after another? I don’t think so. Life was meant to be much more robust. Still, when we’re in that nightmare, those tough times, and ask how we got ourselves into this mess, it can seem so real and hopeless.
Psalm 17 suggests that this life is a dream as it reads in part, “My CONTENTMENT is not in wealth but in seeing you (God) and knowing all is well between us. AND WHEN I AWAKE in heaven, I will be delighted, for I will see you face to face.” In death, then, we awaken to reality—much like the day I awakened to a safe, peaceful, perfect day at home after my nightmare.
I picture in my mind that he’ll be right there smiling over us.
God took care of the myriad details while bringing us safely to our earthly home; why, then, would He need help getting us through life and back to Him? Trust your nightmares and worried thoughts to his care. Never stop trusting. Instead, consider the beauty of this truth that I didn't know yet when I was so much younger: “You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security.” ~ Proverbs 3:24-26.
© Copyright 2021, Revised 2022, 2023, 2024 Gary Landerfelt MyPericope.com
Comments