My Husband’s Bride Rapture Dream

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“You and I were older, a little bit older than now,”he said.

“You got this mark on your abdomen.  It was a brown spot.

You could remove it-and it wouldn’t just re-appear .  If you scratched it, it smelled like

myrrh or honeysuckle, or lavender, or all three.  It was, we knew, the touch of an angel.

The angel ( a bright light) who had touched you told us to go a place that turned out to be a

dilapidated motel.  We drove there in a car.

“When we got there, to the motel,” he told me, “you stayed in the car and I went to the

door.  I tried the knob, but it was locked.  So I knocked and tried the knob again.  This time

it opened and there was an empty motel room inside.  I called out to ‘Mike’ and asked if he

was there. (I knew that name, for some reason.)  And then I shut the door.  I repeated the

process and the same thing happened.  So, I went back to the car.”

“You have to see this,” I told you.  “So you got out of the car and went with me. But

something different happened this time.  When we knocked and entered the room, a

bright light was there;  it was so bright, and we had this overwhelming feeling so we fell to

our knees and bowed our heads low.  It was when Jesus  (Yeshua) said, ‘welcome!’ we knew

it was Him.  We then could see Him and He wrapped His arms around us and welcomed us

Home.

The room was no longer a room, but a heavenly expanse with angels and lots of people.

And we, ourselves had no fleshly body that inhibited us, we were young again.  There was

no pain, no anxiety, no wayward thoughts of any kind, just happiness and joy and peace.

There was wheat fields of gold in front of us and the greenest grass around that , but in the

background was a  huge city.  I thought I had died and went to heaven, but then I woke

up.”

 

The Discerning Bride

Megan and Flower girl

  Had a dream last night  (important) and being pretty ill with a Bronchitis and Asthma, among other problems, sleep did not come easy.  My prayers have been more continual than specific and I would have to catagorize them as a little lacking at bedtime.  Still, The Father YHWH is diligent and always there even when I am not as faithful as I should be.  There are so many to pray for right now, even illness is no excuse.  This is our one weapon that our Savior gives us in all circumstances to use. So I am remiss today, but I will continue.

  The dream.  I was visiting this really huge Mall like building, it was like a big mansion, and was white with huge columns in front, but inside was one store with beautiful jewels laid out in cases to display them in a sparkling setting of bracelets, earrings, rings, or even tiaras and necklaces to accentuate their aesthetic appearance.  What was different about this display was that it was accessible to all who came in the room.  You could pick something up and take it, though it seemed to belong to the store owner.  There were different compartments to the store and it seemed that there were seven workers there.  As soon as I grew alarmed when a woman in blue came in, took a pair of earrings and left, I became a worker at the store.  I was working hard for my pay and saw that my paycheck or earnings would be in three parts, two shown, one hidden, and one large bonus that was not to be known for the time being.  I took great ownership in that store because it was the right thing to do to guard the jewels of the Owner of the mansion.  My family worked there too.  I noticed three kinds of workers.  Of the seven, two worked very hard, knowing the value of the jewels and having great loyalty to their owner, four worked on and off, not diligently, giving it some time, but having no ownership in the job, and then there was one who just came in and took of the display but had no authority, no right to take the jewels. There were other parts to the dream including living in that mansion/store and dying out of loyalty for the owner who entrusted the work.  That is the dream.

I don’t hear from YHWH  everyday except through His Word.  Sometimes, and I believe it is because we are in the end times, He sends dreams, or a reminder at waking about something important.  So I pay attention to The Word and to the dreams (ones I remember) and to the word at rising.  Of all three situations, the first in importance is the Bible.  Though The Lord speaks to us in His small still voice of the Holy Spirit, the Ruah ha Qodesh and often another Believer, if we are in the Word as He Inspires, both the other two will agree with the Word.  The Bible tells us to “study to show thyself approved unto Elohim, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2Tim 2:15  If we study, we won’t be ashamed as the Word will always guide us in truth.

Because we study, The Holy Spirit can use the Word itself to reveal to us what is actual truth and what is not.  Why do I mention this?  It is because The adversary comes to steal and destroy, who uses subtleties to try and pull away even the very elect. Do we know that Yeshua (Jesus) is Lord and Savior, creator of the Universe and yet loved us enough to come to Earth in fleshly form and then to suffer and die for our sin, but to raise from the dead in Victory and to The Glory of Abba Father?  If we say that because we know it, and if it has made us a new creature wanting to live for Him alone, than we  are His, the sheep of His pasture and He will allow no one to pluck us out of His Hand.  Still, even the demons know the Word, know what Yeshua accomplished, and know and believe He rose from the grave.  What do we have they don’t? We have the Holy Spirit and we believe and accept the Sovereignty of Yeshua as the Son of The Father YHWH. This is who S—n and deceiving spirits pretend to be.

Is it easy to be deceived?  Any spirit that leads a Bride of Yeshua (Christ) from the DOCTRINE  (original Hebrew) of the gospel is a seducing spirit.  And the chances of spirits leading away  those who think they are Christians is great.  Just look at the seven churches in the first three chapters of Revelation.  Two groups were deceived, ones who thought they were Believers and were not. (The good seed was given, but cares of the world, Vulturous birds (fallen angels or evil shepherds) snatch it away, or  a lack of soil, or water, or too much sun killed the seed-they are the ones Jesus  (Yeshua) says, “Depart from me I never knew you”.) And  then there are those who are Believers and Yeshua allows the deception to occur for a time and for a purpose.  How do you know it is a seducing spirit?  It may feel really good, like the real thing, but this tiny still small voice pinches or nudges you and makes you think, “is this right?” or “something feels a little off  or discordant,” because the adversary and his fallen angels know scripture very well and because of this they use half truths to make a sculpted lie.

One of the most prolific sculpted lies of our time is the one of love.  It is that if you just grasp the concept of love and its teachings, the teachings of Yeshua the anointed, that is what saves you.  If you just try real hard to live a righteous life and you believe in Jesus, you are saved.  If you just follow blindly what a pastor or a Priest or a church (even online) tells you, you will not only be saved but you can get all kinds of rewards right now; riches, a better life, a husband, talking with the angels, speaking the language of angels, a special relationship with the Saviour, an understanding of your purpose in life.  Well, the last one you will get from  Yeshua, Himself if you are a new creature in Him because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of YHWH which leads to being faithful (being a doer and not a hearer only.)  What I am saying is, “if it sounds too good to be true, it is.”  In all my years of belonging to my Saviour, what I have found in cycles of service is His request that we carry our cross for Him.  Our lives belong to Him.  His blessings come when we are in His Will and at His time.  There is no “magic” method of getting to know Him better.  Magic is a term beloved of the fallen angels and whenever you hear it, you need to go in the other direction as swiftly as possible.   If you desire more intimacy with Yeshua, you will seek it in His Word and in obedience to His commandments. If you diligently seek Him (Song of Solomon), you will find Him, but He will come at His own timing-You will even learn the Father’s Name.  Yet, He does give constant blessings and praise helps.  A Father loves to give gifts to the thankful child.

What I have just described above is the woman in blue who keeps going to the heavenly Mansion and stealing one of the precious jewels.  She uses it to attract the Brides or the would be brides of Christ.  You recognized the jewels, how could you not.  The jewels are created by The Father Almighty for His beloved Brides.  You see it and want it and it is ever dangled before you.  Other brides want it and you swap encouragement and do what  you believe Yeshua wants you to do for Him and you feel like you are on the right path because the other Brides are there too, and theirs are the best stories,{because Yeshua is working in their lives.)  But the woman in blue is a deceiver, she has stolen a jewel belonging to the King, but has no regard for His Sovereignty.  She has a sculpted lie and gives you free access to the jewels, but she says you need not use discernment (of the Holy Spirit) because she knows the Owner of the jewel will reveal Himself.  The Seducing Spirit she uses makes Himself out to be “The Lord”, but He is not the Owner of the Jewels, not the True Shepherd of the flock.

The two workers (one was myself-by YHWH’s’s grace, not my own and of nothing that I myself should feel pride about) that possessed ownership of the Jewel store had free access to all the jewels anytime and could see them, touch them, use them, because they respected the Owner of the Mansion.  As workers, there was a reward of which they knew, one of which they did not (it was hidden), and one huge bonus which would be known only at a specific time.)  These two workers also guarded the jewels, they were careful to stand guard, but if a person was emboldened to take a jewel, there was no way to stop them (because the tares are mixed in with the wheat and if the tares are pulled up, some of the wheat may go with it.)

Lastly, there are the four workers who have access to the jewels, like to look occasionally, but have no ownership.   They work occasionally, may have commitment, may not.  They like the jewels for their own comfort but sometimes are too busy with their own lives to commit to the store.  They sometimes even chose to follow out the woman in blue and see what she is doing with the jewels, because she seems to know more about them then they do.

The seven workers are the seven churches of chapters two and three in the book of Revelation.  Two churches, Smyrna (the martyr church) and the church of Philadelphia (the rapture church) are the two workers the Lord finds doing when He comes, the virgins with oil in their lamps.  The woman in blue is the deceiver, like the church of Pergamum. This is the seat of Satan and often the woman is a church or a pastor or priest who leads brides from The Saviour.  As they are busy doing the will of a deceiving or seducing spirit, it allows the oil in the lamp to get low.  Some of these can be saved.  Antipas was a martyr for Christ and this was at Pergamum. The Lord does not will that any should perish.  The last four workers are like the last four churches in Revelation.  Ephesus, Sardis, Thyatira, and Laodicea.  I won’t explain each of these.  Suffice it to say, they all believed themselves to be Christians-Believers and some followed Christ’s instructions and   some did not.  You should recognize the last church, the church of Laodicea as being the lukewarm one Yeshua spewed from His mouth.  They were blind, spiritually, because they believe they can do things of their own righteousness, they have their own pride, they are boasters of themselves, they love their own pleasure, and so they serve Yeshua with music pleasing to their own ears, with activities pleasing to their self-esteem.  They are not meek or humble ( 2 Tim ch 3) and think themselves to be gods, they can be masters of their lives, their finances, their jobs, their children and can balance the world with their church lives (Baalism and  lukewarm)  They do works of righteousness to wear that white robe for “the Lord”, but are actually spiritually naked, because our righteousness is as filthy rags to YHWH.  He cautions us to wear His robes of righteousness ( these are the Bridal robes of white for those who recognize His Sovereignty and are new creatures in Him through His righteousness. ) He will tolerate no naked guest or guest in rags at the Marriage supper of the Lamb.  Lastly, these of Laodicea do not recognize the Kingship of Yeshua.  They may even call someone else on Earth, Father  i.e. Priest or Reverend, or label them a representative of Yeshua ha Mashiach,  or Jesus Christ. Himself.  He will not rapture them because they will not have their lamps full when He comes.These think they are virgins but are without oil in their lamps.

I said that there was another part of the dream and it does involve the two churches, those dying for Christ in the world and those living for Him despite the world and becoming His soldiers in the end times.  2 Tim ch 3 (it speaks of the very last days and the times which have influenced us now),  It requires taking up your cross.  It requires the work that causes the jewels to shine, like loving your neighbor as yourself and loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  It requires a personal relationship with Yeshua by staying in His Word. It requires the faithful.

You will notice that I described 7 workers in the store and yet accounted for 6 (because the woman in blue was a thief).  The seventh worker was the Holy Spirit.  Kudos if you already figured that out (it would be the Holy Spirit who revealed it to you.  I will review what I have written above for errors, but this is Holy Spirit inspired and it is of sound doctrine.

C’est fini!

 

 

 

Living With Love as the Bride of Christ

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Heart Dwellers-Living with Love

written 10 Dec 2001

I was listening to a program about a woman with a brain tumor which spoke about drawing closer to Yeshu through a journal because it helps you to remember the ways in which Father YHWH blesses you in your life.  Sometimes the blessings are small like snow on your birthday just before Sunday School-even if it was a quite selfish prayer on the day before.  Sometimes its a small blessing like when he warns you to be kind to your husband, who in being very thoughtful is coming through the door with your favorite donut on your birthday.   Sometimes, it is the sound of the church singing your favorite Christmas hymn just as you are walking in the door of a new church home.

It isn’t just the sure mercies of our Lord, the air we breath, the safety in our homes and our cars FOR me and those I love.  It’s the knowledge that God’s hand is upon me and upon my family; that it always has been and always will be, because he is such a loving God.  I like that song, “Fathomless Love,” because I really can’t comprehend why He chose me.  I choose Him by my will, but He chose me first at the dawn of time.

At least with Calvary’s (my church’s) help I have progressed beyond 1st grade as a BELIEVER, but I have so much to learn.  As I told (my husband) Bill and Pastor Rex and his wife, Andrea, when they came with us, this past Thanksgiving, in the car to my sister, Sue’s house, “It’s hard being at ground zero.”  It is difficult to follow Yeshua without the discipline learned from an early age of how to live without sin or at least to recognize it easily.  I think without Pastor Rex, Bill would not have grown so much in the Lord.  It may have been the death of his father last year on 9/11/2000 or the fact that his mother just had a major stroke, but I see much more commitment and growth.  And as he grows, it allows me more commitment and growth.

It has been awhile now, over a year since I started again the daily devotions and prayer.  Since I talk to my Saviour  all the day long, it is not always so important for that 5-10 minutes in the morning after devotions because occasionally I miss the prayer  which I feel is necessary for me to feel My Lord’s peace during the day and then it turns out the day is still okay.  He still keeps watch over me,  Bill, the boys (my sons), Darija (my son, Bob’s wife), and Alisa.  It will be a wonder when we arrive in Glory to discover that plan that He had for our lives and the way He watched over us from birth, even Darija and the girl who will become Billy’s wife. (Vanessa)

Even work is bearable because Yeshua (Jesus) is with me each step of the way.  It is 14-15 months since Father YHWH opened my eyes-just a blink and gave me the Clinical Coordinator job and all it encompassed including the joy-one more time- of knowing He loves me.  I prayed that Jabez Prayer before I knew what it was  and then the blessings came down-for things I hadn’t even thought of or asked for.  There was Sunday’s off, so I could go to church and be with my family, and dayshift, so I could really sleep well and restore my body.  The ability to worship The Father Elohim with others was so important to me.)  I knew we were not to forsake the gathering of ourselves-and that since YHWH inhabits the praise of His children-more praise multiplies the effect. Then too, I received a salary increase, less stress via a management position, which I desired.  But most of all, I get to take care of all the nurses I work with and helping them to get along, I make the floor safe.

Sometimes I even get the chance to share my love of Christ with others.  There was the Lady with the sheep card who went to glory, and the man who shared my joy in Yeshua, the lady who was dying who needed to think about Father Yahuwah and Yeshua and give herself to Him.

I have learned tho thank Father YHWH even in my sorrow-like knowing that both my sons are so far away and how I missed the birth of my first grandchild, my granddaughter, Alisa.  YHWH knows I don’t handle loss well, but He knows that I trust in Him.  Even my small sacrifices bear fruit and He understands my pain.

I keep thinking I should write a book about the miracles and blessings in my life.  The big one, aside from the Hurricane Betsy (when at age 11 The Lord turned a hurricane), is of course, Daddy’s guitar.  When my Dad died, I asked for only one thing.  There was enough for six children to be satisfied without arguments, but my desire was for one thing.  (My father would sit at our bedside at night playing a song to send us to sleep when three of us were very small, before my Dad remarried.) And yet my Aunt Liz, my father’s sister, whom we never knew before his death, appeared and wanted that same guitar (it was his constant companion when He was young). The agreement was made that she would take it and upon her death, it would come back to me.

I remember being sung to sleep with “Hobo Bill,” and “Just want to be Your Teddy Bear,” when I was three and four years old.  Daddy spent years of solace with that guitar.  At his death, it was useless as a hole in the frame prevented further use.  So I waited for 8 years until Aunt Liz’s death.  ( She was a real comfort and joy to us with Dad’s passing and there after.)  And the guitar–well, it was gone.  Someone probably saw that it was worthless-and it was to everyone except me.  Actually, my whole family was disappointed because if I had ownership, they could at least see and touch it occasionally.   It was probably a blessing because being restored to the family, it naturally would have started arguments.  Still, I felt depressed over it-my only inheritance was gone.  And yet, my Heavenly Father showed another blink, a revelation in the opening of my eyes.  In all Daddy’s things I took very little (my brother gave me a token gift of the Mr McGregger  toy we kids once gave him), but The Abba Father gave me this wonderful gift.  My son, Bob, who I had once hoped (before his birth) would be Kimberly Sue, looked like my Dad, had my Dad’s wonderful grin (even per my Aunt Liz who said the same), had his love of and ability to play the guitar, and who would bless me with his wife,  Darija, his daughter, Alisa, and so much more. He had the Pierson (my maiden name) love of poetry, philosophy, books, and most importantly: the thirst for knowing more about our Saviour Yeshua.

Not that I love my Billy any less.  Billy seems to be this combining of me and Bill.  He has traits, looks, physical aspects of us both and one of these days, YHWH will use him.  I dedicated my firstborn to the Father, He says “the child that opens the womb is holy”.  So far He is using Bob-but one day Billy will open his eyes.  One of these days we will all rejoice at his homecoming (and the understanding of who he is in YHWH’s family, a beloved.)

Heartdwellers-Peace that Passes Understanding

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Psalm 139 is one of the best psalms for demonstrating the Love of Father YHWH as He watches over us in all circumstances.  It describes that Shepherd’s eye from before the moment of conception, when we are at our weakest, and even in the depths of darkness as He watches over us.  Still, not only does  it provide comfort for fear, worry, concern, confusion, or lack of direction; but also, there is a specific blessing for all who read and hear it that belong to Him.  This is the Peace that passes understanding.

Yeshua  gave a vision to me of  sound waters where ships sat quietly without movement-sort of like the doldrums.  I, not understanding the meaning, asked Him if there were ships in heaven.  He smiled, and stated, “you can walk on the waters there, or walk beneath the waves to see all the glorious creatures I have made.” I did not discern that He was telling me that I missed the entire meaning of the vision.  Calm waters and Peace, but peace as He gives -the peace that passes understanding.  We can’t get even close to the concept of what that actually means and that is why it is so beyond our understanding.  It partially involves being still and knowing that He is YHWH.  Yet, it takes a lifting of the veil on the spiritual eyes to “know” that He is Sovereign  and what that entails.  I finally got it a few years ago and with it came utter amazement.  I heard and could recite that He was omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, but I did not understand.  And through a trial of great pain (pain so great that there was temptation to shoot myself with my gun) which took patience, prayer, praise, and long-suffering until The Lord put me in the right place to alleviate the pain, getting rid of the problem once and for all.   It wasn’t just relief, it was beyond relief, it was deliverance with understanding.  It was similar to salvation itself, because we have to understand the pure darkness of sin and its difference from light to understand the real gift that was given for us be  burden free, and reunited with our Heavenly Father.

For some, upon the gift of salvation, the eyes are just open, but for others, even the Apostle Paul  told us we see dimly as in a obscured mirror not perceiving true reality. And when He, Yeshua, opened my spiritual eyes, there was no going back.  Why? Because at that point there is no doubt, not only that God exists and that He cares; but also, that He dwells in our hearts, sees all that we see and experience, knows and understands all,  and that He is control of everything.  Praise His Name, He is in control of everything.  It is from that point that we go from glory to glory, as we seek to be holy as He is Holy, as we seek to see His Face through His Word, and we seek to Hear His Voice.

For some reaching that point means becoming a Pastor and teaching others about the glory of the Living, Loving God and His gift of Salvation.  For others, it means going beyond what this reality teaches us we can achieve or see or know and dwelling half in the world of the flesh and half in the spiritual realm.  Now, this does not mean we are half worldly and half not because that is the normal war that exists in every person who becomes saved-that duality that Paul speaks against.  Instead it is a gift of grace from Yeshua, Himself to hear His Voice and experience things of the spirit that most humans believe exists only after death.  It takes a real seeking, studying, worshipping, praising, and focus to be in continual obedience and yet, even failure in striving against sin is recognized in the attempts, so that more grace is given to allow that spiritual walk.

The Peace that passes understanding is yielding to The Only One that is in complete control.  Body, soul, mind, and strength yielded to The Saviour, Yeshua ha Mashiah.

 

Heart Dwellers-for the Bride

Bride dress Brianna

I had a dream a couple nights ago.  I had been praying to Father YHWH  with no break thru.  He was remarkably quiet.  I wondered if I had needed some more confession of hidden sin, but that was not what it was.

I went to sleep and dreamed about being an officer on a large Navy ship, it was larger than a Destroyer, maybe an Aircraft Carrier. There was a commander on the ship who was known to have a close knit group of men loyal to him, but who were less than honorable. Suddenly and without warning a rogue wave hit the side of the ship engulfing its entirety in cold sea water.  I woke up feeling that I could not breath.  I was short of breath for a few moments.  I did not understand the meaning of the dream until I went back to sleep.

In the second dream, I watched as a close knit band of evil men  set fire to one end of the ship even while the ship was still rolling from the sea waves.  I had difficulty understanding how the fire could have occurred -it was not logical, though all the crew knew it was the Commander’s friends and they were jubilant at the destruction.  All this was done while the Commander was off ship on a submarine.  The crew loyal to the ship put out the fire, but there was a lot of damage, everyone knew it could destroy the ship.  Still no one spoke to the Commander, at least He did not react as though he knew what had happened.  I was a commissioned officer as a nurse on the ship, who was a short timer -my time in service was ending.  I decided to inform the commander and searched for him.  He was at a dinner party and was highly angered that his dinner had been interrupted.  When I told him what had happened on the ship while he was gone, He shook his head and said nothing.  He went back to the dinner party.  When the ship docked, I resigned my commission, but the ship’s crew were sad that I departed the ship.  They needed all the help they could get. When I woke up, I was aware of the dream’s meaning.  The Commander was Obama.  The Ship was the US.  I am not sure if the rogue wave was people like refugees.   I knew that something is coming, I am not sure exactly what.  The rogue wave was a total surprise, the fire was seen coming, but people loyal to the US took care of it.  My only commission on this planet has been the Great commission.  I figure the reason I resign and go Home, is going home to the Father YHWH

When I woke up in the morning, Jesus was there.  In prayer when I woke, I could see Him smiling and I knew the meaning of the dreams. I kept playing the hymn, “More, more about Jesus”

 

As little girls taught about the bride

Bride Delilah

As little girls we were taught all about the bride.  Sometimes our favorite doll is the Bride doll.  Our Mom’s told us that one day a very special man would come into our lives.  He would be gentle and meek, strong and caring, and He would protect us and love us like no other.  Then there would be a wedding, and a white dress-the most beautiful garment you have ever worn to show your beauty; a veil, to cover both your beauty and your emotions as both fear and excitement flit across your face; shoes to carry you down the aisle though they do not feel as though they touch the floor; flowers that cannot compare to your beauty.  What we do encounter is men, just regular men, who we grow to love, yet, we don’t always encounter what we have been taught.  There may be kindness, gentleness, fun, joy, wisdom, or humor, sexiness, strength, honor, or there may just be a person who loves you, puts you first, or works hard for what you need.  Yet, the longing that we had is never fulfilled  until we truly meet Yeshua our Savior.

The reason is the hole in our hearts that only He can fill.  It is a breath of air that is filled with His loving spirit that awakens our spirit. And as the intimacy between His Holy Spirit and ours increases, we begin to see more baby spirits arise with that same longing, that same seeking of the joy that is incomparable to any earthly need or thing.  He becomes the air we breath, the bread we eat, the water that quenches our thirst.  He becomes the path that we take to find Him, and the light we use to guide our steps.  He becomes our all in all.

I have longed for most of my life to see the face of Yeshua, Jesus the Christ.  When I was a young child I would talk to the one called Lord at Sunday School, Jesus.  I would speak to Himm about life, challenges, Sunday School, learning, mean kids, sadness, and grief (a friend’s whole family was killed in car accident that claimed her Mom and Dad, sisters, and brothers while she was with her grandma).  I shared with Him about loving to read, loving to tell stories, and fearing what I could not myself control.

At about 10 years old, I was the Bible verse champion for my Sunday School class.  My teacher was very nice and focused on teaching us verses and how to pray.  She told us that nothing was impossible for Jesus.  I know I thought of it for a bit, because the thinking would revisit me.

Near the beginning of the school year, it was hurricane season in New Orleans.  That meant more rain, but it also meant being soaked when walking the mile to school.  It meant my stepmom pulling out the map of the gulf and listening to television and radio programs that told her how to track the storm.  It meant less time for me or any of my sisters and brothers to play outside and minding the plastic raincoats covering our dresses for the three block walk to Sunday School each Sunday morning.

And suddenly it was upon us, in the middle of the night, my parents awoke us to gusty winds and pouring rain outside.  “Time to go,” they said, as they directed us to take our blanket and one toy.  There were five school age children and one toddler to fit in the loaded station wagon with our two parents.  It was very dark and difficult to see.  When we arrived at the school which was a shelter, the wind was so strong, we had to cling to the fence and our raincoats which flew this way and that could not cover our bodies.  It was less than half a block to the entrance, but we were soaked.  My Dad dropped us off with a little food supplies and our things and then left to go home to protect our house.

Yes, it was scary being away from home in a strange school with so many people vying for a space on the floor gym, with blankets from home to mark the boundaries of each family.  Yes, it was scary when the black family near to us had a grandfather die right there with no ability to move him to a hospital.  Yes, it was scary to think that the adults only wanted to monitor the direction of the hurricane, while the children pretending to be content with their one toy or coloring book absorbed their fear as though it was some kind of  lotion that was necessary to be able to function.  So there it was shelter, people, safety, and fear.  And I with my favorite doll walked her around introducing her to imaginary friends until the Spirit of God whispered in my ear.  “Jesus knows your every fear.  Talk to Jesus.”

My ten year old prayer went something like this, “Jesus, teacher says you can do anything if we pray in your name.  I am afraid my  Daddy will die because he is all by his self at home and only has a Hershey bar to eat.  Can you make the hurricane turn like this.”  I indicated a right turn with my hand. “In Jesus name, I pray, amen.”  How did I know He would hear?  I remembered talking to the men in white not so long before and they all listened and guided me, particularly the Lord they all listened to. So I trusted my teacher, and Jesus and fell asleep  on the floor wrapped in my blanket with my favorite doll in my arms.

Though we had to wait two weeks while the water receded as the levies had broken, when the hurricane turned right a cheer went up around the huge room.  There were a few hallelujahs, but more signs of relief as people in the shelter went about their normal business of talking, standing in line to receive cafeteria food and water, visiting the bathrooms, discussing the weather, calming rambunctious children and napping.  The peace and calm had settled in the gym and only some people were aware of the cause.  At ten years old, I realized that Jesus really could do anything and that He loved me enough to save my Daddy’s life.  It was just a year later that I accepted Jesus as my Savior and asked Him to dwell in my heart.  It was where He always belonged.