Good morning…
After watching violence erupt all over the news following the very sad public killing of George Floyd and hearing story after story of private violence against young teenaged girls in the first episode of Filthy Rich, a documentary about Jeffery Epstein, I went to sleep.
In the middle of the night I woke after a short disturbing dream. I was trapped on a dangerous island, alone, without supplies. Somehow I sensed this mysterious message: “There will be three to four days of horrible weather. You have a choice to make. Find any shelter possible and try to wait out the torrential rains or try to make it back to your home safely in the midst of this violent storm.” The end, the end of my dream.
I got out of bed, turned on the light, sat on the couch, and opened my journal. I tried to decipher my dream, to write out my response. But after twelve journal pages went from empty to full, I was still unable to discern a nourishing nugget to share with our online community. So, I climbed back into bed, trusting God’s Holy Spirit to do more inner work. After a few hours of additional sleep, I woke again.
I woke this time to the image of two large oatmeal containers. One was full with the lid off. The other had the lid on, so I could not see if it was empty or full. The end, the end of the image.
I brewed some coffee and opened my journal again. Where had I left off?
“In the face of injustice, anguish, inhumane treatment,” I wrote, “God’s still small voice, what does it whisper? ‘Stay put, shelter-in-place with Me and I will nurture your everlasting life. Or go into the world’s violent storm with Me, and let Me fight for you.'” Then I uncovered in my journal a third possible choice. “I can shelter-with-God as I go out into these very challenging emotions, facing the world’s violence sheltered securely with God, watching the LORD win these battles, decisively, creatively, over time.”
Then I prayerfully pondered, “What is the image of oatmeal about, God?”
I sensed that God would nourish me with food that I could see and, with me feeling filled-full or completely empty, God would nourish me in unseen ways. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest (Exodus 14:14, AMPC).
…Sue…
P.S. Photo courtesy of unsplash.com.
