2020 Was the Best Year Ever!Sample

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The other night, I had a dream--a vivid, scratch-your-head-in-confusion-when-you-awaken kind of dream. The kind you get when you’re pregnant or have had too much ice cream the night before.

I was walking to my car outside of a random house I just helped clean and I heard my name in the distance. It was the kind of calling out that indicated I hadn’t seen this person in a while and they were surprised and excited to see me. I turned and saw two friends running towards me from underneath a gated archway. I only remember one of the people from my dream (and in a moment I’ll tell you why). She embraced me with an awkwardly long squishy hug and then picked me up like a baby as she ran inside the gated and fenced in area. She rushed me past groups of mingling blurry people and some safari animals (including a giraffe that evidently belonged to me when I asked--insert hands up emoji). 

In the distance, I spotted a pen of pacing lions. One lion somehow freed himself and zoomed past us on our right. I soon realized the pen was where we were headed to and when we got within just several feet of it, someone called out from behind us, “Are you going to feed her to the lions?” She was busted apparently and instantly dropped me right in front of the fence. I was no longer lion kibble and the dream ended.

This dream wasn’t unlike others in its bizarre factor but what made this one different was the person who acted like she loved me but wanted to feed me to the lions. She and I attended the same high school, and while we weren’t besties, we were certainly friends and had a respect for one another. This person came back to my life recently when she commented on a Facebook post, attacking me personally for beliefs that I hold and shared and continue to share on my social media. 

This political climate we’re living in is combative and super divisive. It’s hard to speak the truth in love when words and accusations are being thrown at you with zero hesitation and zero regret. I haven’t seen or spoken to this person in seventeen years and what finally brings our paths together are unkind words and name-calling. 

It’s easy to be in the here and now--to live in a narrow and surfaced level mindset. But this dream and what it symbolized brought me back to the reality of what’s really going on. If you think for a second that our current state of affairs is a race issue, or a political issue, then you’re currently stuck in the above mentioned mindset. Think bigger. Think macro-level. The Bible tells us that we don’t wrestle with flesh and blood, that it’s a spiritual battle of epic proportions between good and evil. The Bible describes Satan as a lion walking around and searching for someone to devour. My high school friend was about to feed me to the lions--she was working on their behalf. And the people you contend with across digital screens are not your enemy either. Your real enemy is the devil and his deception and plan is more evident now than ever before. 

When the anger starts to swell inside you as you read your friend’s social media content or comments, have compassion. Jesus hung on a cross to die for you and for me (and for the friends you don’t agree with). Let His words ring in your ear, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” He knew the real enemy wasn’t the crowd below shouting obscenities and accusations. Imagine what the world would be like if we, like Jesus, prayed over these people instead of slinging mud back at them. By all means, speak the truth and speak it in love. But turn your anger and defensiveness into understanding and compassion. These people aren’t the enemy and the sooner you realize it, the sooner their lives can be changed by your prayers.