Tuesday of this week, I woke with a migraine that wouldn't stop. I loaded the kids into the van for our extended trip to school (we are currently in a hotel due to an extensive pipe leak at our house.) On the way to school, I asked if the kids had slept well. (They are all currently sleeping in the same hotel room with one bed and a blowup air mattress.) My daughter, Ashlyn, related that she had not slept well because of a nightmare that she had.
She began to describe how a terrifying bounty hunter had come to the school in her dream and threatened to cut off the heads of students. She continued to tell how he began to use the heads as volleyballs... it was at this point that I cut her off, wondering where she would come up with something so graphic. My head was splitting and I didn't want her brothers to have those images in their heads.
I truly forgot about the incident until Thursday morning. Ashlyn had a doctor's appointment at Duke Children's Hospital, and so I had taken the day off of teaching to take her. (At this point the Esther fast had already begun, and I am certain the Holy Spirit prompted this:) As we left the hotel, I asked her if she had slept any better the next night. She told me again that she had not, because she had the same nightmare. As we drove to the hospital, now that we were by ourselves, I asked her to describe it again. She went on to describe how the Bounty Hunter had come to her class at school and they were on lockdown. She said he was threatening to cut off the last person's head in every line. She described how he went upstairs in the school, to where her older brother, Braden was. The Bounty Hunter proceeded to cut off Braden's head. She said she was screaming in the hallway, when her younger brother, Caedmon came out in the hallway. She described how the Bounty Hunter taunted her and asked if Caed was her other brother. When she said yes, he cut off Caed's head. She then relayed how he went to my classroom to do the same to me. She said that before he came in, the Bounty Hunter cut off her head. She was able to relay the events that followed, even though in the dream, she was dead. She said the Bounty Hunter entered my room, but that I looked at him and said, "In Jesus' name, you are gone!" When I asked her what happened next, she said the Bounty Hunter disappeared. She said that I began praying and crying over my children, then suddenly Jesus came and reattached their heads. She said that I held my children and wept over them.
I immediately apologized to her for not hearing her dream out the first time around. I explained to her that when we had prayed over her dreams after the first one, how Jesus had revealed healing, protection and restoration to her. Without prompting, she said, "Mommy, the Bounty Hunter was Satan, wasn't he?" Ashlyn is eight years old. Her name means, "God's Dreamer." Out of the mouth of babes... this child didn't know I was fasting, praying for her protection, for our family's protection, for the protection of our church body. She had no idea that the fast this week was designed to pray specifically for protection from Satan.
It is at times like these that I am completely overwhelmed by His presence, His protection, His promises, His love, His grace, His salvation, His reality. Thank you Jesus for your confirmation and your spirit. May our children always recognize your presence and action.
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