Snakes.  I HATE SNAKES!!!   So, needless to say, I wasn’t enjoying the dream I was having with three ugly black ones threatening me.  Little did I know when I awoke, trembling with fear, that by nightfall I would be praising God for that dream.

It was an epic kind of dream with at least 8 different scenes, and it occurred the night before my appointment with the oncologist to discuss treatment options.  The first surgical pathology report had come back less encouraging than expected so he gave me all the statistics regarding re-occurrence and long-term survival.  For the type and size of cancer I had the percentages of difference between chemotherapy or not were very small, so it was a difficult decision.  But the doctor wasn’t much help—he wouldn’t tell me what to do—it had to be my decision.  Home I went with, armed with numbers, and talked it over with my family, but they didn’t have any clear answers either.  At some point I remembered the dream, and when I went back and looked at what I’d written down that very morning I was astounded.  The overall context of the dream implied that I was on some type of journey and, while I really couldn’t see where I was going, as long as I kept my eyes fixed on the LORD I knew would arrive safely at my destination.  There was even a knowing in the dream that I needed to be somewhere at 3:45 PM—I didn’t know where but I knew it was important—and only in retrospect did I realize that my doctor’s appointment had been at 3:45 PM that day.  So, back to the snakes…

I was alone in a bed in the living room and I saw three snakes—they’d all been contained in a glass aquarium in the corner but 2 had escaped.  A man came in and then quickly left, saying he’d send someone back to take care of it.  The second man, who was dressed like a maintenance man, came in armed only with a belt in his hand—I was pretty worried; how in the world was he going to protect me with a belt???  In the meantime snake number one had somehow disappeared from the dream.  I wondered again how the man could possibly do anything with a belt, but he cornered snake number two and made it get into the aquarium.  It escaped again though, and I was really upset because it was very long and dangerous-looking.  Surprisingly, the man didn’t seem very concerned.  He continued to do battle with snake number three—it was the worst; big and black and very ugly; and then it reared up over the top of the aquarium and puffed up like a cobra with its wide hooded head and hate-filled eyes—spitting and striking at everything in reach.  The top was still not on the aquarium and I was so scared that it was going to escape and come after me—its head kept coming way up over the rim before the man would beat it back down again with his belt.  The man glanced casually over his shoulder at me and said with a shrug, as if it were no big deal, “Death is really mad today.” 

When I started seeking the LORD regarding the meaning of the dream it became clear that the fist snake was the tumor that had already been removed, the second was the threat of metastasis, and the third was death.  As I prayed about it, I knew that God was showing me that I needed to go ahead with the chemotherapy and I felt his assurance that if I did, snake number two didn’t have a chance.  But then it got really good because the Spirit of God showed me that Jesus himself (and, even now, I get tears in my eyes just writing about it) was the man who came to me in the dream with the belt of truth to restrain death.  Wow!  I’d read many times about the armor of God, as described in Ephesians 6:10-17, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  Just imagine the protection that is available to us if we’re wearing the full set of armor when Truth is all it takes to restrain Death!

So often I hear people insist that God no longer speaks to people in dreams; that he spoke that way in biblical times, but there’s no way anyone will ever convince me of that.  Much has been written about dreams in recent years, and I could reiterate argument after argument as evidence that he still communicates this way, but my proof is personal experience.  Over and over he has comforted me and provided direction during the night hours—time I used to think was wasted as I slept away approximately a third of my life—time I now eagerly anticipate as each night provides a new opportunity for my body and soul to rest while my spirit encounters the Spirit of the Living God.  Amazing encounters are recorded in my dream journal…

…Some very clear messages in my mind as I awoke this morning, “Life itself is a risk; life requires faith; and, importance or value is not determined by appearance.”  Pretty significant and encouraging thoughts in light of the fact that I am in the midst of chemotherapy; every day is a struggle to keep on trusting God; and I’m completely bald…

…A dream this morning in which I was identified as one of God’s elect with the ability to encounter the realm of the Spirit—and to find rest there.  As I prayed about it I was led to 1 Peter 1:1-2 where the Apostle Peter wrote “to God’s chosen people” who were “living as foreigners” in distant lands.  He encouraged them that, “God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.  May God give you more and more grace and peace.”  How interesting that my name, Barbara, literally means foreigner or stranger—and yes I am a stranger here, in this world but not of this world, and much loved by my Father…

… I don’t know all that transpired last night, but I do know that I fell asleep in a chair in my living room and I went somewhere else—I was in another dimension—I felt myself taking off.  While I was there I recall a man coming to me—he seemed like a dear old friend—familiar—and I was so glad to see him.  He was glad to see me too.  I asked if we were together in body or in spirit and he just smiled and said, “What do you think?” and I knew it was spirit.  I don’t know what else may have occurred between us but at one point he said, “Cut that off,” and used his hand to cut off something I couldn’t see.  I’ve wondered who this was—was it my great-grandfather, the circuit riding preacher from the early 1900s whom I never met?  I don’t know, but he knew me and loved me, and I had the sense that he was removing a generational curse. Lots of other things happened during that night and I don’t remember them all but, just as I was waking up, I peeked to see where I was because I really wanted to stay in that other place.  I saw a vision of a couple of old, black-and-white televisions with pictures flickering on the screens.  I said, “Lord, if this is not supposed to be, let it stop” and both immediately quit—the one closest to me just seemed to fizzle out.  There’d also been a bunch of junk lying around on the floor but it was suddenly all gone and my living room floor was covered in new potting soil.  God has done a work in me during the night and I’m on new ground—the way is cleared for a new thing to grow.  Yes!!!  Thank-you Lord!!!

And then, on my dad’s eighty-first birthday (how I love God’s timing!), I received an amazing gift.  Another dream—an assurance that the victory had been won and that the curse was dead.  It was another epic in which I seemed to be battling an evil martial artist all night long.  He was so powerful that none could stand before his skill or his weaponry, but I kept evading him somehow.  Finally, his evil became so intense that he was destroying even his own warriors, and just when it appeared that there was no more hope for me one of his weapons turned upon him and he was suddenly nothing more than a pile of sawdust.  The scene changed and a delivery-man came to the door and handed me three take-out-food containers.  I opened the first and it was empty.  I opened the second and it was empty.  I opened the third and it was the dust.  I woke up and instantly knew that the snakes had been defeated—the tumor was gone; any metastatic disease was gone; and death had been defeated—nothing but dust with no power to harm me.  I remembered that Jesus is Truth and Death cannot stand against him.  Then, a few days later, the LORD gave me the perfect verse to sum it all up, “There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.”  (Psalm 14:5)  It just doesn’t get any better than that.