Dreams

I awoke this morning (late) from an perplexing dream:

I was in the old house, in Phoenix, in the office working on something or other. Though I am not certain, it seems like mom still owned the house, but only I lived in it. And suddenly I heard scuffling inside, and a young man I recognized but could not name, showed up and threatened my life. With him were four zombies -- or at least I call them that, but they're far from our cultural depiction of zombies. They were crazed, people like the hunchback witch or the delirious natives -- and they gave you that same sort of creepy 'join us or die' feeling. Their bodies were decaying (which is what has me call them 'zombies') and their skin was grey, decaying and bloody and their teeth and fingernails were yellowed. They were under the command of this commander who had invaded my home, and he was offering me some sort of Morton's Fork for my allegiance. He would give me time to decide, but it was clear that when he came back it would be for keeps and that he was showing me a grace not ordinarily showed to his other victims. I also remember thinking that he had ambitions to make the entire world into zombies, I think because it would allow him power not only over everyone, but in a way and to a depth he was really trying to get at. It would open a door for him that he was really after, but whatever that would be is a card that was he played too close to his vest for me to know -- for the moment his threat of join us or die were clear.

We had various bits of our extended conversation in many rooms across the house, I remember what happened vaguely in each, but I don't think the dream made any attempt at showing the transitions from room to room, so even though I understood them to be one continuous dealing with this commander, it was broken up into many different scenes. In one instance, he had left the room, and in lack of his command, the zombies pressed in on me to attack, threatening to either smother me or devour me. I was saved by the returning commander who ordered them off of me (it wasn't time yet, I had to have time to make my choice). In another instance, while he was talking, a conniving zombie with a mischievous grin (who was standing uncomfortably close) kept trying to scratch me with his nails so as to infect me. The commander noticed, but did nothing to stop him as it was not a direct attack, and continued talking. It was clear to me that I was alive on his graces. I also, have just the faintest memory of a white and gold city that I was a defender of, and that I must make sure the Commander did not know about -- but this detail seems like a distant thread, and less related to the actual story. If this were real, it'd be the sort of detail that exists at the far back of a character's mind, but would usually not make the retelling.

As the commander and I wrapped up our conversation, he escorted me from the premises and out into the culdesac where it became clear that mine was not the only house on the street under attack. In fact, a zombie army, each with a commander, was invading each home in the neighborhood, and parked askew out front where the large military vehicles that had transported them there. I remember determining to myself, even before we left, that I would build a resistance after he left and that I would do so secretly. Undoubtedly the zombies would return, and I could think of only one place to hide, and that is the roof - zombies, as it's known, cannot climb things and like the humans that become them, are not naturally inclined to look up. There was a particular spot on the flat bit over the porch I knew, that with minimal modification I could build, via tarps, etc a small shelter that would be close to unnoticeable from the ground, and that would keep me out of the house when the zombies returned to find me -- they would conclude that I had fled, and I would be safe.

As we reached the corner, another commander had just gotten out of his jeep, a tall black man with dreads holding an assault rifle, stormed the house I had just come out of with at least twice/three times the number of zombies that had initially come to visit me. It was clear that their intentions were not as 'nice' as my commanders and they killed everyone remaining in the house. I remember asking the commander what was happening -- and his saying something that implied he had saved me, but that others were not so lucky (it was just him and I now). Knowing that the LORD had used this commander to deliver me my life, I stopped right there, put a hand on the commanders shoulder, and prayed aloud a prayer of thanks to God for delivering me from death at the hands of the merciful commander, that death had passed me over.

After this, there was a brief conversation I had with a neighbor where we observed how quickly and easily our street has been taken over. Someone had just rolled in with an invasion force and our defenses (which only expected the occasional mercenary or antagonist) were overwhelmed.

And now the dream skips ahead, though again, feeling completely continuous. It was now time to build the shelter, and the house no longer had the same floor plan as it did when we lived there, it was in many ways a different house. It had at least 2 floors, each full, and perhaps a third above that. Numerous stair ways and rooms were present, and the spot on the roof that I intended to build the shelter on was still accessible. There were also all kinds of people, many whom I did not recognize walking the hallways and going from room to room as if this was their house too (a place they had come and made home out of as refugees perhaps, but not their original home). Standing out in the backyard with my friend Zechariah, I remember clearly trying to figure out with him how we would build the shelter. Unlike our real roof, a system of beams already existed that would make the building of the shelter much easier, and a good amount of loose wood (like drift wood on the beach, but darker) was on the roof also in disarray. There had been a previous shelter here that we would be rebuilding and expanding. I also remember going into the house after figuring with Zech, and seeing Chris and Rebecca, and asking Chris if he would join our shelter and Chris said that so long as our facilities here would have adequate training grounds, he and his family were in. (I remembered that he had previously mentioned that he preferred to be at his own house due to his familiarity with it, with would give him an advantage over intruders as he fought with his sword (quite a bit like Fox's Nagamaki)). As I walked back towards the outside, I saw a number of rooms that I had not noticed before, a huge room with open doorways at the four corners, and a sand floor (for sparing? Or practice?) In my dream I knew it was primarily to build strength and endurance. Other rooms seemed to contain various tools, etc -- I realized that this house, this facility, would have everything we needed to not only hide, but fight, when they returned.

On the way out, and on the second floor, I ran into my dad, who gave me my rifle and pistol (both 22s). The rifle I seem to remember, was either not working or not of interest, but the pistol was able to take the rifle's 10-round cartridge in the bottom just like the rifle, and with live ammo I returned to the backyard. As I made a loop around the backyard, I noticed that there were people all over the backyard, and most of them were children in little circles or running around and playing. As I made my lap, I found 4 baby moose (perhaps one of them was mom) with fuzzy and almost-flimsy antlers who some of the children were playing with. They would stay in our shelter also, and I realized that as they grew, they would be able to provide us milk for dairy, butter, and especially cheese. (A moose had somehow appeared earlier as a sign of strength and deliverance, but I don't remember how) Good, I thought, these are God's provision for us, the pieces are coming together. I also walked within touching distance of a fierce and rather large golden eagle, who one child was trying to convince to hold still long enough so as to nab one of its feathers. (His feathers were very golden in color, not just 'golden' brownish). He was regal too, and barely moved as I passed.

Having walked out in the yard far enough, I sighted my pistol and fired, and experienced the strangest thing ever. The round came out in slow motion, falling towards the ground much faster than gravity would normally allow, but in addition, by moving the pistol I could swing the bullet around like it was on the tip of a pole, and redirect its path in flight. I watched as this bullet buried itself in a small gopher hole not 6 feet away. Waiting for the children in the neighbors yard to move out of the way, I fired another at the far side of the yard, and though it went further, it still dropped off only about 60 feet off. Still, I was able to control it in the same way I had the other one, and noticed that even though the bullet traveled in slow motion, it contained the same amount of force/stopping power, and that in someway I was only beginning to understand, I could control not only it's path, but it's speed perhaps, or even -- as strange as it sounds -- intention. Then, there was some kind of summons and as we all headed towards the house, I fired out last shot at the back fence, trying to figure it out, and willing it to go the full distance. It did, straight as an arrow, leaving the same gossamer trail in the air the others had (similar to the sniper rifles in Halo) that faded from view as soon as the bullet struck it's target. Then I woke up.


I admit the dream is strange, but if you're willing to read further, there are a number of things about it that are perplexing. For one, I made decisions in the dream far more lucidly and with a presence of mind and heart I almost never have in dreams, and further, after I woke up I was able to recall nearly all of it, even to this afternoon as I write this post. I also had, upon waking, an extraordinary amount of peace and presence of mind, even though I was late to work because my alarm wasn't set (which is odd in itself considering that my alarm doesn't unset unless you tell it to). Getting to work, I started talking to Fox about the dream over text, and he brought up that it might be from the Lord, especially given the number of peculiar but vivid signs all throughout. I had already been thinking this to myself, and brought it up to Chris as a 'I had this weird dream last night'. For fun, Chris looked up zombies in the bible, and stumbled across this little diddy that quotes a verse from Zechariah. The zombies, if you want to call them that, in that passage, describe exactly what I saw in my dream -- and I didn't even know about this passage or had ever read it before today. And then, in this crazy little God moment, I realized that my friend Zechariah (who spells in his name exactly like the prophet) was very clearly in my dream and almost for no reason.

Silence.

Like, God had totally told me to listen to Zechariah before we even knew about the verse! This gets our thoughts going during our Jesus meeting, during which I get a vision of a glass bottle (symbolizing a message I think) arriving to us today, and a warning (shown visually) of a shear that came down and cut the bottle in half (which cut like plexiglass, but looked and felt like glass). God was saying (and we all felt it), I have something for you today, pay attention, and don't get in the way. We asked Jesus to reveal to us what it might be, but he was rather coy about it, and only said, 'listen like I told you to'. So here we are. Out of this meeting, Fox also realized another zinger: The Foxes and I have a long and affectionate gag about my being their eldest son, and in many ways I kinda function like an older son who's gone off to college. I come home for dinner every Monday night, I spend time with my younger brothers playing Civ, and their parents have my ear as people I respect and often talk to when I'm confused or hurting. Funny enough, that last night, just before nodding off, Fox (without specifying which ones) prayed that his sons might receive dreams from the Lord. Looks like God is prepared to operate along the spiritual realities at work even before we are.


Now it's lunchtime, and the events and facts surrounding this dream heavily implicate the supernatural, and seem to bear the unique markings of God and his style. Though you could dismiss all of these events as coincidence (as skeptics often do), In my experience with miracles and the supernatural, they're almost never the sort of things that are flashy or surrounded by bright light like on Touched By An Angel -- most often they're these little bits and touches of God's power and direction that if you weren't paying attention would be really easy to miss, almost like shooting stars -- they almost always seem to show up just out of the corner of your eye and by the time you turn your head, they're gone. And the best way to catch one of those, is to stare at the same spot for awhile -- but even then they're easy to miss, yet there are hundreds over your head every night, most of them -- if you manage to catch them -- plainly visible. Though I'm still interpreting the dream in my own head and heart (realizing that very often, God's symbols have multiple meanings), I share it with you to encourage you that Aslan is on the move today, and even though I don't know all of how (He told me to listen), God is up to something.

It also helps that this theme of a safe house, a shelter and safety for God's people in difficult (and perhaps the end of) times has been one that God has talked to both us and others about through at least one other direct prophecy and the more normative voice-in-the-heart talks, all to people who didn't know about the others, and who have come to this same conclusion. Also, Chris has a meeting today with Bob about Soma, and we'll see where it goes -- but in my own childlike heart I hope very fervently that this is part of what God is up to today. Either way, whatever my Daddy does today will be good, and I look forward with open eyes and open hands to see what it may be.