Baara's Dreams

Chapter 13

Baara went to her room in the wee hours of the morning weary to the bone and ready for sleep, but Mara would not let her rest.

"I know you are tired, as we all are," Mara said to Baara. "But before you sleep, will you please just listen for a minute?" she begged. "I saw something when I went to try to rescue Zipporah, something strange, yet wonderful. Just as the flaming beam fell cutting off access to Zipporah, I saw a shining being dressed in white stoop down and pick her up. Just as the white apparition bent to lift Zipporah, the downpour began. I was overcome by the smoke and water and fell to my knees. Naaman picked me up and carried me out. He said I fainted from exposure to the fire, but I was sure that as he lifted me, I saw the shining being look upward toward a finger-shaped light in the sky. As we turned, I glimpsed two lights merging and then there was nothing but darkness. An unbelievable peace and an overwhelming love enveloped me. I heard a deep, compassionate voice say, 'Welcome home, child. Good job, Michael.' That voice was almost immediately replaced by another voice saying, 'Wake up, Mara, wake up.' I found myself looking into the anxious face of Timna."

Mara paused and looked into Baara's eyes. "I know others will tell me that I was hallucinating, but, Baara, do you think I could have seen a messenger sent from your god, Yahweh? Could he have taken Zipporah to the place of light she spoke about? Even though Naaman said I was out cold when he lifted me, what I saw was so real. And the feeling that overwhelmed me, it's indescribable. I can't believe that was a figment of my imagination. You're a worshipper of Yahweh. What is your interpretation? Are you familiar with the name Michael?"

Baara saw in Mara's eyes that she wanted reassurance, but she wasn't sure if she could honestly tell her what she longed to hear. Choosing her words carefully, Baara said. "You realize, Mara, that I am young and unschooled in my religion. I know only the oral traditions and Psalms I learned at my mother's knee. I am familiar with the name Michael. It's a well-known one among my people. I have ancestors with the name, but I'm not aware of their being any religious significance to the name. God's messengers sometimes come and bring messages to men, but I don't remember any of them having names. Their mission was what was important, not who they were," she noted. Staring into the distance while she concentrated on remembering, she continued, "I can't remember but one story of anyone being taken by Yahweh while they were still alive. The Prophet Elisha saw his mentor, Elijah, taken up into the heavens in a chariot of fire. The story didn't say what the driver of the chariot looked like. I don't know if an angel took Elijah or not, but there aren't any stories of ordinary people being taken to Yahweh's kingdom by a messenger. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, though," she concluded.

Shaking her head and looking hopeful, she continued, "As for the place of light, I don't know what Yahweh's abode looks like, but in the Psalms, God is spoken of as a being of light with a face shining with light. Peace is also one of Yahweh's characteristics. Although he's known for his wrath with sinful man, his abode would be filled with peace because only those who follow Yahweh would abide there. I'm well acquainted with the peace Yahweh brings to a distraught life. It's the peace He brought me that helped me to accept my lot here. So, I suppose what you saw could have been either real, or at the very least, a vision sent from Yahweh. It made you think that Zipporah found the tunnel of light she spoke about to us. Whether you actually saw a being of light take Zipporah or you were given a vision of reassurance is unimportant, I think. What's important is that you recognize that you were not meant to rescue Zipporah. You can rest knowing that she's in God's hands in a better place."

During the interchange, Cozbi had sat silently, but now she cut in, saying, "I wonder if Naaman saw anything? Perhaps you could ask some discrete questions of Maacah. If Naaman saw the shining being, then it would not have been a vision, right? I mean, two people don't usually behold the same vision, do they?"