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We all do it; dream that is. If you’re like me, by the time you are fully awake to recall a dream, it has vanished like a puff of smoke. Only a small handful of these nocturnal ‘mini-epics’ have I been able to retain in vivid detail. I believe God uses dreams to speak to us at times to avoid the distraction of our conscious minds and allow us to retrieve these images as well as the messages they convey. In them, he can teach life lessons, relieve fears, reveal future events if necessary or even give direction and purpose for ones life.

I remember one such dream. At the time, even though I didn’t realize the significance of its message until many weeks later, when I woke that morning, I definitely knew there was one! What was the dream you ask? Well, I was alone at home and all was quite and calm. Then, I heard a very loud ‘train-like’ roar that seemed to engulf the entire house. Without thought, I immediately went to the garage and raised the door to witness a huge black cloud that was violently ripping apart everything in its path. With its twisting and turning, it gained strength as it continued to approach my home. Considering the obvious danger this scene presented, it would seem logical at this point to panic and run for whatever shelter I could find. Yet, that was not the case. Instead, I stood unmoved in an indescribable state of calm watching the storm as it devoured everything in sight and continued to draw closer. Then, as if on cue, the violently spinning black mass stopped its progression at the edge of the yard and tracked its course very precisely along the borders of my property without touching even one blade of grass. The raging dark cloud retraced its path, disintegrated into a vapor and then disappeared as if it never existed. The devastation it left proved otherwise. Mine was the only residence that remained untouched by the destruction. When I awoke from this graphic display, I retained a sense of peace along with wonder and intrigue for its possible message. For some time, I continued to ponder on the significance of the dream I was given.
                             
Several days passed before God gave confirmation of his message. I was having a conversation with a friend as she said, seemingly out of the blue, “God will help you stand and give a sense of calm in the eye of the storm”. I hadn’t yet spoken to her of the dream, therefore she had no way to know how God was using her words to provide evidence of his personal message to me only days earlier.