Spiritual Battle

Chapter 2.1: The Watcher

It was burning beyond belief now.  The need to move overtook me but I was unable to do so.  How long had I been stuck to this rock, unable to move?  I should be panicked and screaming for help, screaming for even one drop of water to cool the burning, searing and unending pain.  In fact, I would have been screaming if I could but somehow I had no control of my mouth just like I had no control of the rest of my body.  It seemed as though I was destined to lie here for all eternity.

There is was again.  That twinge of hope that prevented me from spiraling into total despair.  Why did I feel hope in a place like this?  Does it mean something?  I would think I am saved if I wasn’t in endless torture.  There must be a purpose; there has to be a purpose for this.

In the midst of my suffering, there was always this hope deep in my being.  Where did it come from and why was it there?  To understand it was akin to my attempts to move.  Although, I wasn’t about to question it.  This hope in this place of suffering was my only comfort and I welcomed it with open arms.  If I could move my arms, that is.

As I dwelled on the feeling of hope, I could almost feel it growing inside of me and soon my torments became nothing and suddenly I was blinded by a magnificent light from across the moat of magma surrounding me.

I shielded my eyes with arms that could suddenly move and as I froze in shock, I heard a voice.

“Get up and come with me, there is something you must do.”

The light dimmed enough for me to put down my hands and look at who or what has appeared across the magma.  When I did this, I was filled with peace and my torments ended.  She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen; beyond the beauties of the world I had known for so long.  Suddenly, I was afraid.

“Why are you afraid?  There is nothing to fear.  Neither from me nor any other force from the earth or the heavens.  Please come with me, there is something you must do to help save your fellow man.”

I realized I was sitting and gingerly tried to get up from the rock.  My legs lifted me with remarkable ease and I felt revitalized and more alive than I had ever felt during the life I had once known.  I turned to the woman and walked towards her outstretched hand.

She smiled as I walked and as I looked around me, the magma turned to water and the rock, the place of my torment, became a beautiful fountain.  I waded through the water and climbed up onto dry land next to the woman.  It was then I hesitated for a brief second.

The woman turned to me and extended her hand again.  “Come with me.”

I was no longer in pain but rested peacefully in the beauty of this woman’s presence.  With tears of joy in my eyes and a newfound, unending peace in my soul, I took her hand and left what had once been the spot of my unbearable torment.

Before I could ask where we were going, I saw a bright light ahead and a heavy mist before us.  As we walked through the mist, the light grew stronger and massive golden gates appeared before us.  I stopped outside the gates and looked around for the woman to guide me further but she had vanished.  Before I could reach out to test the gates, a man stepped into view on the other side and smiled welcomingly at me.  At least I think he was a man.  He appeared to be a man but something more as well.

The man smiled and said, “You don’t look much different than I.”

I looked down and saw my body, if I could still call it a body, was radiating a faint light and appeared to be more than my body had been on the earth.  Shocked, I looked back at the man.

He smiled and opened the gates.  “Come in.  Your Father would love to see you.  He has been waiting for you for so long.”

As I stepped through the gates, I was overtaken by the splendor of my new surroundings.  The beauty of it all stopped me in my tracks and I just stood there, gaping at what I saw before my eyes.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and as I turned around, I saw the man standing there, still smiling.

“Welcome home.”