I had a very vivid dream last night…it went a little like this:
“Cody”
It was sunny, cool day. Everyone was having a good time. The kids were all playing fun games together, the teenagers were plotting their flirtations. The young men were proving their worthiness and generally showing off. Women of all ages were in the kitchen bringing out load after load of casseroles and pies and large platters of bbq and desert delights. There was a group of older men under a large Oak playing dominos and stretching tall tales.
In the middle of this picturesque chaos was two huge metal baskets on wooden pallets full of the bricks that had been delivered for the new building everyone was so excited about except that the bricks had been delivered and unloaded directly in front of the bay doors so everyone had to squeeze in and out of the big metal building on the way in and out of the kitchen and bathrooms. It was also the shortcut from the back parking lot where everyone had parked.
After the day wore on and the young men began to make a dent in their ice chests. Cody, who had a reputation for being the loud, brash one, made the decision that the big metal baskets on the wooden pallets needed to be moved. He stomped around the area telling anyone who would listen about how he would save the day. He was all noise and bravado. His intent was good but his language was colorful and not entirely easy for the older ladies to ignore. He and all the other young men his age proceeded to try to lift the first pallet, flexing their shirtless muscles for the girls they were trying to impress. For all their effort; the load did not budge. The young men were defeated physically and and their egos took the brunt of the hit.
In the field next to the metal building was a huge yellow half rusted helicopter that had been collected on one of the old mans treasure hunts and Cody was eyeballing it like a dog with a bone. Once again Cody launched into one of his boastful rants letting everyone know he was there to save the day and that with his military training and muscles that shone in the sun he was going to just jump right in that old heap and use it to lift the bricks out of the way and into the area where they actually belonged which was about 300 yards away; just on the other side of the field where this big celebration was taking place.
Cody spent half the day throwing his weight around and generally sprinkling his cocky attitude here and there. Finally, he had the courage he needed; fueled by his friends and his years in the army he tore into the helicopter and twisted and turned this and that and poured fuel into the thing and to everyones surprise the crazy old machine fired to life whirling its blades into action. They hooked a heavy chain to its undercarriage and Cody gave it the power and it lifted off the ground like a old dog making his way off the porch. Cody leaned out of the big yellow bird and saluted; more to himself than others then he waved to the crowd of us below.
All the young men gathered around the first big crate of bricks and fastened the chains and the towing strap in a ridiculous configuration that looked like it was part of a cartoon sketch. Cody lowered the helicopter into place and the men fastened the helicopter to the load. The load lifted and swayed gently to the left, then to the right, narrowly missing the side of the barn. The helicopter went straight up with the bricks and Cody maneuvered them around the crowd so everyone felt safely out from under the load and he slowly delivered the pallet to its rightful destination and gently set it down to everyone’s delight. The crowd was impressed with Cody’s deliberate and tactical skill.
Now it was time to move the second brick filled metal basket. Again the men fastened the cartoon looking hodge podge of chains and towing straps and connected it to the helicopter hovering overhead. Cody gently pulled back and the helicopter began to lift one corner of the load as it strained towards the left and suddenly one of the young men on the ground grabbed the strap that held the load and cut it like a mad man. The load landed back on the ground with a loud earth moving thunk that we all felt in our chests like heavy bass music.
In that split second the shift in weight on the helicopter sent it barreling forward and there was a collective gasp among the crowd as we all watched the helicopter piloted by the cocky young man roll this way and that in the sky above us. One of the older ladies started pointing at the helicopter and said: “Well it’s Cody’s fault” and then again she couldn’t help herself as Cody had repeatedly offended her and several others all day and once again she pointed to the helicopter as is rocked in the sky above us and stated: “Cody is a liar, he can’t pilot that thing”. In a way she was being just as brash as Cody had been earlier. Someone next to her shushed her and she was indignant. Time stood still in that moment. We were all just standing there wondering what had happened and what was about to happen when the big yellow bird dropped like a rock in the grassy area in front of us. We stood in horror as the clunky machine caved twisted and turned in on itself and began to smoke before bursting into flames. Cody did not appear and the crowd rushed forward to lend aid to Cody and the inferno.
As the crowd dove forward in a rush to get to the helicopter Cody’s quiet, unassuming and aging father squeezed around the remaining bricks and into the sunlight and asked what the fuss was all about. The older woman stood there indifferently pointing to the burning crash and flippantly said: “That young Cody has been all over this place all day bragging about how strong he is and what a great pilot he is and now he’s gone and crashed that rust bucket and gotten himself in danger.”
Just then, a beautiful woman appeared out of nowhere, he skin was flawless and pale and she seemed to almost radiate goodness, kindness and gentleness. She softly lifted her soft hand to the old man’s cheek and she tilted her head and asked if she could walk with him to check on his son. The beautiful woman looked at the older woman with eyes so sad it seemed her heart was breaking. In that moment the old woman realized her mistake and regretted her attack on Cody and was ashamed of herself for not recognizing his father and for making his grief darker than it needed to be. She bowed her head and repented to the Lord for attempting to be judge of the young Cody and his brash mannerisms and colorful spirit.
The beautiful young woman and the aging man made their way to the helicopter and as they approached, the old man saw Cody’s body distorted and trapped in the flames and he clutched his chest in pain and he looked up to the heavens and cried out. All the people moved aside and except for the crackling of the fire the field was silent and everyone waited to see what Cody’s father would do. Life disappeared from the old man and before he could fall down the young woman put her arm under his for support and reached out to Cody who took her hand and all three of them ascended up, up and out of sight leaving only a glittering in the sky of where they once had been.
The fire died out consuming the helicopter and everyone went back to the party to console each other and to make peace with what had happened.
The old woman was resolved not to repeat her mistake and quietly removed used cups and plates from the tables making herself busy and useful while she contemplated what had taken place. The image of the young angel looking at her with that very sad and disappointed face was etched on her mind. She was sorry for her careless words but she was grateful no one else had heard her. She quietly continued to chastise herself declaring that she would never again play the role of God by attempting to be judge and jury but more importantly, she vowed not to supersede the role of the Holy Spirit by calling attention to the weakness and failures of others. She whispered her prayer to God for forgiveness and God smiled upon her.
The group of young men were making a fuss over one of the little boys and they lifted him to their shoulders with tears streaming down their faces and tried to encourage the boy. No one seemed to know what the young men were doing and the old woman pointedly noted that they shouldn’t be carrying on like that when such a tragedy had just occurred.
The young man looked at her and asked: “Maam, do you think we are celebrating to loss of a lifetime friend? No, we are celebrating the young life that was saved. You see, this little boy ran up to the left side of the big crate just as it was about to lift off the ground. If Cody had been successful in lifting the crate and I had not cut the strap just in the nick of time this little dark haired treasure would have been crushed to death between the crate and the side of the building. We will miss Cody and his father but we will take very good care of Cody’s son here because now he has lost both of his parents. His mother died last year from cancer and while Cody was able to get out of the military to care for his son in the wake of her death he wasn’t able to be there for her as she took her last breath. Cody’s aging father was forever telling us that his biggest fear in life was being too weak to save the ones he loved. Cody came across as cocky but Cody was cocky because he was covering up his trembling fear of raising a child on his own when he couldn’t be there to help his wife during her last days. Now this little guy is here with no family left at all and he really needs today not to stand out as a day of unbearable tragedy so we will carry him on our shoulders, and we will tell him what a hero his daddy was and we will not ever be ashamed of the tall tales of old men or heroic bragging of young Cody.”
It was one of those poignant dreams where you wake up and you just know it had to mean something. I had to run to my computer and make note of every detail so I wouldn’t miss anything and I could go back and analyze it later to glean its deeper meaning for my life.
- One person cannot be the Holy Spirit to another person, that is a job better left to the Master of Heaven.
- One person cannot know all the details of any given situation, they can only know from their own limited perspective.
- Times will come when we are faced with people who are annoying to us or who seem full of themselves and we may feel like it is our job to point out their faults so they can improve them or at least curb their crazy so we don’t have to be part of it.
- We must also save ourselves the shame of realizing we have also misspoken, it is often better to pray for God to be the guide for others who have lost their way rather than appoint ourselves as Lord over their mistakes and shortcomings.