Where All My Hope Is

The Three Doors

I felt something brush against my leg and I jolted forward. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized that something wasn't right. Where was the jail cell that had been my prison? Where was Asher and Ezra? Where were the guards?

I glanced around me, trying to claim my bearings on this new situation. I was standing at the end of a long corridor, painted black by the dark shadows. There were three doors. One on the left, one on the right, and one at the end of the hallway. I carefully tiptoed over to the first door. It was made of oak and a symbol of a book was beautifully carved onto its planks. I braced myself. Something still didn't feel right. I was in control of my body but it felt like moving underwater.

I gently twisted the golden door knob. The room before me suddenly exploded into dazzling rays of light. I was blinded for a minute and fell to the ground. When the light dimmed, I was finally able to scan the room and realized there was a book sitting on the floor. It was the only thing that casting a light into the dark room. It was leather bound, thick, embossed in silver lettering. As I picked it up I heard a voice boom, "What has been lost must be found." I shivered, and the book disappeared. Instantly the room went dark. The shadows chilled my heart, and I never felt so alone. I heard the voice speak again, "Until it does, the land will remain in darkness."

I frantically spun around. Where was the voice coming from? Does he mean the book is lost? Do we have to find the book? I thought frantically, as I bolted out of the room. The oak door swung shut behind me and disappeared.

"Two doors left," I told myself while I hesitated over the second door knob. This door was made of sycamore and had a dove carved on it. I was terrified, and befuddled all at the same time. But I desired answers and the only way to get them was to venture forwards. As I carefully peered through the crack of the slightly open door, my heart calmed down. The room was full of plants and animals. Like a calm peaceful forest. I skipped in and looked around. This wasn't so bad. Definitely better than the last room.

That's when I noticed there was a small fire on the ground. It was tiny and flickering, like it was about to go out. For some reason, my heart felt pity for this flame. I kneeled down next to it and poked it with a slender stick. The little fire jumped onto the end of the thick twig like a tiny bug and I watched it grow slightly. It wasn't burning the stick, it was just sitting there. Suddenly the voice came back. "The power inside has been stifled, set it free!"

The little fire grew larger and formed into the shape of a flickering dove. It shoots into the air and glides around just like a real life feathered bird. I was amazed. The fire dove took a sharp turn left and plummeted towards me. I screamed and held up my hands to protect my vulnerable chest. But the dove flew straight into me. I expected myself to catch on fire but I didn't. Instead I felt safe and warm. Like being wrapped in a mothers arms. I glanced down at my shirt and saw a fire shaped heart form. Suddenly, I wasn't afraid of the fire anymore. It focused my mind and gave me a sense of peace that only Adonai gives. I took a breath of relief and glanced around. The forest was gone. I spoke out, "Excuse me whoever you are! But I don't understand! What has been stifled? Please answer me!" Nothing. The voice didn't return but the book did. I grabbed it roughly. It wasn't going to disappear on me again. I rapidly flipped open to a random page and found a couple verses highlighted,

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

After I had finished reading the book disappeared. I yelled, "Wait, come back! I want to know more!"

The voice boomed from the darkness, "What has been lost must be found!" And with that, I was back in the hallway and the door had disappeared.

"One more door," I muttered while standing in front of it. It was purple and covered in gemstones. There was an elaborate carving of a crown on the front. "Here goes," I said aloud while twisting the diamond handle.

Suddenly, I was engulfed by a large battle. The light gleamed off the swords, and the soldiers' armor. A thick cloud of dust covered the slain bodies that were strewn across the battlefield. I stumbled over and closed my eyes. The loud roar from the armies stung my ears and the heavy thumps of horse hooves matched the thumps of my frantic heart. I opened my eyes a crack, the sight before me terrified me. A black army, like a sea of ants, were crushing the other fighters. I clambered behind a tree and watched as the blackness surrounded the lone warriors dressed in white.

"Stop! Please stop!" I wanted to yell. It was bringing back awful memories. Memories of mom and dad fighting. Memories of being ripped away. Memories of darkness that stung my soul. "Stop!" I finally screamed, and the whole battlefield was stripped away.

I flung myself to the floor and cried. Heavy sobs cluttered my heart as I let go of my hurricane like emotions. So much had happened in my life, and I wasn't prepared to deal with them.

"Ple-ease," I started heaving, "Why-y did I ha-ave to see that-t?"

"Because I love you." A soft voice answered from out of the darkness. I looked through tear stained eyes at the lone figure walking towards me. He had a kind face, unaffected by the wild storm around him. Wherever he stepped the darkness vanished leaving behind a ray of light. He looked at me just as a loving father looks at his child. "Who-o are you-u?" I asked warily.

"I am the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace. I am the Savior of the world, Immanuel."

I don't know why, but I leapt to my tired feet and ran towards him. Immanuel smiled and held out his arms. I threw myself into his strong arms, and started bawling like a little girl. He didn't mind, He just held me tighter. Immanuel gently set me on His knees and wiped the hot tears from my flamed cheeks. He looked at me with love in His beautiful eyes.

"You are my daughter Fae, and I will always love you." He picked up my torn up hands, weathered by my own life. "You needed to see those things so that you will be prepared to stand against the forces of evil." He brushed a lock of my tangled red hair against my cheek. I leaned into his hand, it was warm. "To the world the evil has destroyed the light, but they haven't even come close."

I started choking on heavy sobs again, "But I saw it! The shadows were crushing the light!"

Immanuel smiled. "Would you like to see what I see?"

I hesitated. Everything so far had been new and unpredictable, did I really want to see more? But I bit my lip and replied, "Okay."