the enemy comes

Many times when I dream my role is just to watch. I am not actively involved in what is transpiring in my dreams, but I am everywhere the action is, a silent spectator. Often, I am able to feel things the main character of my nocturnal feature film is experiencing. I recently encountered such a dream…

The setting is chaotic, frightening. People are running frantically but not really going anywhere. They are afraid and they need to keep moving. I notice it’s noisy, and many people are talking and shouting. There is a high level of energy in the air, a sense of urgency. Taking notice of my surroundings, I see I am in an enclosed area, with no windows and no natural light of any kind. The walls are strewn with large, metallic objects and though I am unfamiliar with weaponry, I conclude that these objects are artillery of some sort. We seem to be in a bunker.

Most of the people in this bunker are women. One woman in particular captures my attention. She is young and pretty, with thick, dark brown hair cropped to her shoulders. Her hair style reminds me of a picture of my grandmother back in the 50’s. She retains her composure as she gathers her belongings in preparation to leave this dark, underground enclosure. But though her appearance gives the impression of strength and confidence, I can feel her emotions. Her thoughts are in my mind, and I know what she keeps hidden behind her stoic exterior.

She is afraid, and rightly so because there is no certainty in war. A person’s world can be turned upside down in the space of a day. Her American life was for the most part good and happy, with only a few bumps along the way. There was talk of a conflict and the whisperings of war, but she pushed her worries to the back of her mind and continued to carry on with her life. Except now, there is no more carrying on of a normal life. Now she, and everyone here, must flee or be captured by the enemy. The enemy comes to steal and destroy, and the enemy has no pity. She knows this, and tries not to think of it.

Her meager supplies in order, the woman whose mind is also in my mind, whose thoughts and emotions I feel as though they are my own… waits. She and the other women are told that a soldier will come for them. They are to follow this soldier and he will lead them out, to safety. The women are relieved and each takes careful note of the names given them. I see the young brunette receive the name of her rescuer. I feel her anticipation, her hope. She waits.

A rescuer comes.

At the discovery that this man is her soldier, come to lead her out, her relief is so great she feels she will burst with it. She is eager to leave and makes her way toward him, but another woman intercepts him first. This woman is frantic, hysterical, desperate to get out. The brunette realizes that her soldier was sent to rescue both women, but for some reason that I do not know, he can only take one woman at a time. Seeing the other woman’s distress, the brunette decides to wait a little longer. She allows the soldier to guide the other woman out first.

The soldier promises to return. The brunette begs him not to forget her, to come back for her, as he is her only hope. The soldier promises he will return. Then he is gone. And she waits.

Slowly, each woman is guided out of danger and into safety. Each woman leaves the dark bunker, except for the young brunette. She is left alone.

And the enemy is coming.

Realizing that her soldier is not coming back, the brunette is overcome with despair. Black tears line her smooth cheeks, and she puts her hands on her face to hold in the terror, to fight for control, but the tears are coming now. Silent sobs find their voices as the despair overtakes her. She cries bitterly, and I feel the heaviness of her heart. She weeps for a long time. And still, no one comes.

When I awoke, I acutely felt the sadness of that abandoned woman. Interestingly, this dream took me back to John 10:12-13, “The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” The brunette’s fleeing soldier was like a hired hand. He did not come back because the risk was too great, he counted the cost and found it too high.

But John 10:10-11 says this, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Jesus is the good shepherd, he is no hired hand.

John 10:1-3 I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. (NIV)