My nightmare last night

Last night I had a terrible dream. I'm not sure what caused my thoughts to go down that road but they did. I say 'caused' because I think our dream state is due to things that are in our subconscious and we don't even realize it. This dream was quite disturbing and I'm not sure if I can describe the intensity to reflect the feelings I had. Sort of like reading a book then watching the movie...it's just not the same.

It was dark outside but still lots of city lights and night time activity and I was at the back of a convenience store scanning the shelves. My back was to the coolers and facing the counter but since the shelves were my eye-height I couldn't see the window front. (Of course, from my experience in working at 7-Eleven I realize now that shelf height is much lower than that.) Anyway, there were others in the store as well, some new each other some didn't. Small conversations were about and just normal, regular activity.

Then a few men came in and they started yelling at us in a foreign language and then repeating themselves in English. They we asking us to divide up into races, North American over here, Mexican over there, etc., etc. At this point the blood in my veins was pumping so much with adrenaline I could hear it pulsing in my head. I was so nervous and thoughts were running through my head a mile a minute with ideas of how to get out of there or trying to impress on my mind the details of their face so I could recognize them or describe them later. From my recollection they seemed to be part of the Taliban or something. Who knows! I had never been in a situation like this. This only happens on tv! They didn't ask for cash or anything of monetary value; their prize was us. They had some weapons but they must've been small and I say that because as they were doing that another group of men came in with visibly larger weaponry and took over this group of men and again started asking us to divide up. (I'm not sure what any of this means and I haven't thought long enough about it to decipher it)

I then found ourselves on a dirty old school bus going to another location and then the scene changed to our final destination. The next scene was all of the customers (to whom some had now turned out to be some of my friends), walking in a barn-like building with dirt floors. The light shone from one bulb hanging loosely above the leader of this criminal group and he was carrying a gun resting on his shoulder. I noticed different wooden crates misplaced here and there; to my left was some rope tied to a warnout picnic table that looked like some sort of torture mechanism.

The leader then ordered us to take a seat on some of the crates and at this point our hands were tied behind our backs. There was no way to escape. We were tied up, the tension, nerves, adrenaline, weaponry, and evil roamed about us. Across from me I could see the makeshift torture 'area' to which would soon be my fate. I didn't notice too much of the feelings inside of me and the fear I must've had but it was more like I was having an out-of-body experience and noticing everything around me and the energy in the air instead. (If that makes any sense) I did experience fear but maybe my body was just in shock.

Then we were asked the question: Who would like to be the first to be beaten at the Cat-o-nine table? He called it. Really? Is this how I am suppose to live out my last day? Is this my final moment? There was hesitation in the room and there was a big guy sitting next to me whom I could sort of hide behind his shadow but I felt like I would be picked first. Was it something in me that felt I should take the first hit and help the others from experiencing the pain? Those are some of the thoughts that went through my head.

I then remember again having the out-of-body experience because I was still sitting on the same crate I first sat on but then I was watching myself being tied up at the picnic table and about to be tortured with the Cat-o-nine tails. (sp) My thoughts then turned to Christ. Is this what he had to endure for us? His back split open from a whip that would tear him apart and the rest of the torture all because he longs to be with us. Through all of beatings, ridicule, humiliation and adrenaline pumping through his veins and his only response was: Forgive them.

Whew!