When morning came, the sun seemed to tap David on the shoulder as blades of light peeked through the crevices of his bedroom blinds. He sat up in bed and looked around him as if in a strange place. Something was different. What was it? After a moment he realized what it was. He had slept completely through the night. Not once had he visited the pits of hell. He smiled, rested his head on his pillow and said, “Thank you Lord.”
The office was filled with clients when he arrived. They sat in the waiting area, anticipating being called by one of the three counselors that were a part of the system.
David spoke to the receptionist as he walked through the receiving area. It had been such a long time since he had felt rested. Today was a good day. He could almost forget all of the things that had happened last night. Perhaps he would accomplish his tasks today without being sidetracked. He perused the day’s schedule that had been conveniently placed on his desk. A few moments later he saw his first clients and advised them in domestic affairs. He saw client after client that day without taking a break. While he offered them good advice that was certainly according to the books, he felt in his heart that there were weightier matters at hand. Not that his concentration was interrupted, but he was compelled to pray for Darlene and her family intermittently that day.
When five o’clock arrived, David found himself driving out to see Aunt Tillie. Dinner was barely over, according to the schedule posted in the waiting area. At the six o’clock hour, residents would be given a chance to socialize in the activity room or return to their rooms or efficiency apartments. After giving the evening receptionist information, he waited for Aunt Tillie to come down. He was about to start reading again all the literature posted, when the telephone rang at the desk.
“I’ll be glad to do that,” the receptionist said before hanging up the telephone. “Goodbye” she said. “Miss Tillie has asked that you visit her in her apartment. She’s in Number 127, which is down the hall and to the left,” she explained while pointing with her long, newly manicured, red nails.
The living quarters were adequate for someone needing care, he observed as he walked. However, he still felt a little depressed at the same time. In one room, he could see two elderly men playing checkers. In another room a woman stared blankly at the television which aired a documentary on desert snakes.
When he turned the corner, he left the individual rooms and now entered small apartments. He was saddened by his next sight. An elderly woman saw him coming in the distance and began to wave at him. He waved back thinking the woman must have mistaken him for someone else. That always happens in nursing homes, he thought. A resident will think a visitor is her child or husband or neighbor.
He was nearly to the elderly woman, when he heard a familiar voice call his name. The voice was coming from the same elderly woman. “David!” the voice said. “How are you baby?” He was shocked as he looked into the eyes of this gentle creature and saw that it was Aunt Tillie.
She aged 10 years without the wig that he was accustomed to seeing. “I hope I didn’t scare you without my hair piece,” she laughed. “I sent it to the beauty parlor today and they haven’t sent it back yet.”
“It’s good to see you Aunt Tillie,” he said changing the subject. He realized she was gray through and through.
“Can we go into your apartment?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said, as she wheeled herself in front of him to lead the way. Her apartment was only five feet away. He was pleasantly surprised when he entered. Her apartment was one large room with a sofa, matching chair and coffee table. Behind the sofa was a small kitchen table with 2 chairs, a microwave oven and a small refrigerator. It reminded him an awful lot of his college dormitory room. The only thing missing was the smell of pizza and the noise of the other students.
“Make yourself comfortable,” she said, as she wheeled herself around to face him. “Thank God for these two-wheelers,” she exclaimed. “If I didn’t have this chair, I don’t know how I’d get around when my legs get weak. But some days I can stand just fine.”
“Were you surprised that I came today?” David asked.
“Not at all,” she said. “I’ve been praying for you all week. The Lord showed me your face when I was in my 5:00 o’clock prayer. Then he took me to the scripture where the Macedonians were praying for help when God sent Paul and Timothy to preach the gospel unto them. I don’t know how much help this little old lady can give, but the Lord wants me to try to help you.”
David gave her a big hug.
“When we talked before,” David said, “there was so much I wanted to share with you. I, I, well, Aunt Tillie, I have a burden on my heart. No matter what I do, it won’t go away. At first I thought it was just me. You know, after my parents separated, I was hurt. But I discovered it wasn’t just a hurt feeling for myself or my parents. I seemed to have a burden for others going through similar situations. I thought perhaps listening to the problems of other people might have caused it. Then I dismissed that theory because I keep having flashbacks to when I was a child,” he said, and paused.
“What happened when you were a child?” asked Aunt Tillie.
“I’m not quite sure how old I was, possibly ten. I had gotten on my knees to pray, at bedtime. Somehow I fell asleep on my knees. The next morning, while we were all having breakfast, I said to my Dad to drive carefully while going to work. Well, he was surprised and asked me why I said that. I answered that he should just be careful. That evening when I got in from school, Dad was already home. He and mom were sitting down talking. They called me into the room and asked me again why I had asked Dad to be careful. They had such strange looks on their faces that I immediately confessed that while on my knees praying, I overheard a conversation. A voice said “wreck Michael Edwards’ car. Another voice answered, “He’s one of three cars to be wrecked tomorrow.”
“Well Mom started crying and Dad just looked at me, smiled and said, “thanks for the warning son.”
“He went on to say that he barely had escaped a horrible accident that morning. After my warning, he prayed when he got in the car that morning that the Lord would protect him as he drove. A car ran a red light and caused two cars to lose control while trying to get out of the way. He was able to swerve out of the way, but one driver was killed and another person was seriously injured. If it hadn’t been for my warning, he could have been in the middle of the whole thing. I’ll never forget what Dad said to me after that.”
“What was that?” asked Aunt Tillie.
He said, “the Lord used you son to save my life,” David recalled. “Aunt Tillie, that was the only time anything like that ever happened to me until now. I had really forgotten the incident, but the last few weeks have brought back exactly what I went through then.”
Aunt Tillie grabbed David’s hands and held them in hers. “It’s alright son. You’ve been chosen by God for a time such as this. That was just a sign of how he would use you later.” Tears filled David’s eyes as he looked directly at Aunt Tillie.
“Then this makes sense to you?” he asked sincerely.
“It makes perfect sense,” she said. “I know you remember the story of a young boy who was anointed by a prophet. Remember it was years later before he actually became king,” she explained.
“That’s true,” said David. “I don’t want to question the timing of God,” he said. “I’ve had three dreams that keep recurring,” he said. “I actually dream quite often, but there are three that I don’t understand. I won’t burden you by telling you all three tonight, but I thought you could give me insight on one,” he said. “The rest are on this paper. You can read them when you are ready to.”
David began to tell the first dream word for word just as he had told it to the pastor. But this time, there was no thunderous laughter, no mocking or hasty answers.
Aunt Tillie looked at him and said, “I’ll pray about it.” He knew from her tone of voice that she would go to God for answers. He hadn’t felt this relieved in a long time. He hugged her tightly and said he would be back whenever she summoned him.
She seemed genuinely glad to help him. Before he left, she laid her hands on his forehead and asked for a special covering from God. “Let your blood cover this young man as he goes forth in the assignment that you’ve given to him,” she prayed. “Don’t let him look to the left or the right, but to keep his eyes on you,” she continued. “I ask this blessing in Jesus’ name.” David could feel the presence of God as she prayed. He felt safe, secure and had a feeling that everything was going to be alright.
On the way home he continued to talk to God and meditate on the words of Aunt Tillie’s prayer, about not looking to the left or right. It kept ringing in his ears.
He climbed the steps to his apartment and noticed small furniture items in the hallway of his building. There was a lamp and a chair. It was obvious that someone was moving in. He had his key out and was inside his apartment before they returned. “I’ll meet them later,” he thought. David made preparations to take a shower before eating a microwave dinner. He believed he would sleep well that night and felt very excited about his conversation with Aunt Tillie. He was right. He did sleep well that night.
David awoke the next morning to the sound of a ringing in his ears. He grabbed the alarm to turn it off but realized it wasn’t ringing. It was his doorbell. He grabbed his robe, while observing the clock. It was 6:15 a.m. Who would be ringing his doorbell at this hour? he wondered.
Looking through the peep hole, there was a young lady there who looked rather disturbed. David opened the door and said, “good morning.” “Hi,” answered the young lady. “I’m terribly sorry to disturb you but we just moved in next door and we haven’t had our phone connected yet. I need to call my job and let them know that I won’t be in.”
“No problem,” David said pointing to his phone in the living room. He followed her into the room and turned on the light. She quickly punched in the numbers while apologizing for disturbing him so early.
“Nurses station,” she said to whomever answered the phone. “Hi, this is Brenda, I can’t come in today because the gas man and the telephone serviceman won’t give me a specific time for their arrival. I’m sorry. I hope you can find a replacement for me. I’ll be glad to make the time up. I’m sure I’ll see you tomorrow. Take care,” she said, before hanging up.
“Thank you so much Mr. – ...”
“Oh, I’m David Edwards,” he said.
“Mr. Edwards thank you so much for allowing me to intrude at this ridiculous hour. By the way,” she said as he opened the door, “We’re the McCains; Michael and Brenda. Thanks again for all your help.”
David shut the door and stood there in disbelief. Did he hear correctly? Did she say they were the McCains? A strange eerie feeling came over him. He sat down in the nearest chair and pondered what was happening to him.
“Lord Jesus,” he said, “Please speak to my heart. I need you to lead and direct my path concerning these people,” he prayed.
It was difficult to concentrate as David headed to work that day. David felt as if he was in the middle of a mystery novel. The only problem was that he was the star of the story. He hoped there weren’t many clients waiting to see him today. How could he help them? His concentration was not good. “Lord, I know you know how this movie ends,” he mumbled as he crossed the parking lot. “I just wish you would tell me.”
“Good morning Mr. Edwards,” said the receptionist as she glanced quickly at David.”
“Good morning,” he said, politely returning the greeting. He had not noticed his client Darlene Smith seated on the bench across from the receptionist. When she entered his office a few moments later, he stared as if she had appeared out of nowhere. David hadn’t bothered to review his client list. “Good morning Mr. Edwards,” she said smiling. “I guess you didn’t see me in the lobby by the look on your face.”
“No, I didn’t,” he said, “but please have a seat.” “Let’s see,”
he said. “This is your third visit?”
“No, my second,” Darlene corrected him.
“Thank you,” he said realizing the other visit must have happened in his dreams. “Are things any better for you?” he asked.
She shook her head with disappointment. “I considered not coming back to see you,” she admitted, “but I felt compelled to come. After all, the last time I was here I received a big release in my spirit. I guess that is why God made tears,” she said smiling. “What’s my next step?”
“I need to ask you a series of questions,” David said. “Do you believe there are some things in life more important than others?” he asked. She nodded affirmatively. “On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, tell me the number of importance to the following questions. Breakfast,” he said.
“Ten,” she answered quickly. “Mother always said it was the most important meal of the day.”
“I can appreciate your answer, but please do not comment on your number,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“OK, let’s continue. Education,” said David.
“Ten,” she answered.
“Mother.”
“Ten.”
“Religion.”
“Ten.”
“A healthy body,” he asked.
“Ten,” she said again.
“Sleep.”
“Ten,” she said without hesitation.
“Your favorite pet.”
“Ten,” she said.
“Marriage,” he asked with a little more stress.
“Ten,” she answered a little less forceful.
“Thank you,” he said while studying his notes. “Would you like to adjust any answers?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “Did I pass the test?” she asked after a moment of silence.
“Oh, I just discovered something quite interesting,” he said.
“What’s that?” she asked looking puzzled.
“It appears that you feel strongly about a lot of issues,” he said.
“I certainly do,” she said. “It’s probably because I was raised that way.”
“For example,” David continued, “breakfast is as important to you as education.”
“Well, if you don’t eat a good breakfast, you can’t receive a good education,” Darlene said, with a chuckle.
David suddenly looked up with a more serious manner. “Breakfast is also as important to you as your marriage.”
“That’s not true,” she blurted out. “You confined me to the scale.”
“Did I?” he asked rhetorically.
“Yes. You deliberately limited my answers,” she said sounding upset.
“But you had an opportunity to change your answers,” he reminded her.
“Well, I had begun so strongly, I felt I should stick to my answers, she said.
“When you discover you’re wrong about something, is it hard to admit it?” David asked.
“Sometimes,” she said, looking agitated.
“What bothers you more, admitting you’re wrong or correcting a situation?” he probed further.
“I’m not sure. Oh well, maybe change,” she said adjusting herself in the chair. “I don’t like to make unnecessary changes.”
“Is it worse, when someone else’s changes affect you?” he went further.
“No, it’s just change in general,” she said.
“How do you respond to necessary change?” he inquired.
“Well it throws me off balance. It interrupts my plans and brings confusion sometimes,” she said sounding agitated.
“Does it affect your appetite?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said giving in.
“Does it affect your work habits?” David inquired.
“I suppose,” she said sounding tired.
“Does it affect your attitude toward others?” he questioned further.
“That depends,” she sort of snapped.
“Alright, I know you’re tired, but I have one final set of questions that I would like you to answer,” he said.
“Alright,” she said.
“I want you to put in order of importance the things we’ve discussed. However, I want you to put them in the order according to what you believe God would want. Start with the least important items. I’ll repeat the selections to refresh your memory. Breakfast, education, mother, marriage, religion, your favorite pet, and sleep.” he said.
“May I parallel some of the answers?” she asked.
“Sure. They can have the same value number,” he said.
“Alright,” said Darlene, as she braced herself in the chair. “Breakfast is the least important. Since you used the word religion and not salvation, I’ll put education and religion on the same level. Next I’ll put healthy body and sleep together. And finally, well, I have to parallel marriage and mother.”
“Thank you,” David said.” That’s all I need for today.”
“What do you do with that sort of information?” Darlene asked.
“Oh, it helps me to draw some conclusive information about who you are and what your deepest desires may be,” he answered.
“Really?” she said. “From that list of information?”
“Absolutely,” said David.
“Have a nice weekend,” Darlene said as she headed toward the door.
David left work and stopped at the local drive through restaurant. He purchased a burger with a side salad and ate it in the car. He was torn between two decisions. Should he go to visit Rose, or go to see Aunt Tillie? He was not convinced that Rose was ready to listen to him. He started the motor and headed in the direction of Aunt Tillie’s home. He desired answers and he felt a sense of urgency in getting them. Traffic was rather backed up because it was early evening. He stopped at the most convenient supermarket and bought a nice basket of fruit. When he arrived at the facility, he told the receptionist he wanted to see Aunt Tillie in her apartment. The evening receptionist must have recognized him from his earlier visit.
“Mr. Edwards, right?” she said. “That’s right,” said David.
“Is that for me?” she asked, looking at the tempting fruit basket.
“I wish it were,” he said. “I’m sure you deserve one of these.”
She picked up the phone and dialed what seemed to be only three numbers. He smiled as he observed her. “Technology is saving us time,” he thought. But what are we doing with the time we’re saving?”
She says to come on down,” the receptionist said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Thanks,” David said. “I’m sure I remember the way.”
He carefully lifted the fruit basket and went down the hall carrying it. He loved to bring surprises to people, mainly because he liked to see them happy. He knew that Aunt Tillie deserved to be happy. When he arrived at her door, he knocked twice with his left hand. She opened the door and for a moment he thought he was in the wrong room.
“Don’t be frightened,” she said. “I just got a new hair piece,” Aunt Tillie said, while reaching for a hug.
He hugged her and handed the fruit basket to her.
“Thank you sweetheart,” she said. “It looks delicious. Would you put it on my table for me? We need to talk. You kept me up all night.”
“I did?” asked David, looking perplexed.
“Yes. I’ve been praying to God about your situation and last night he unfolded some answers to me. Get me my large print Bible off the end table. I want you to turn to Jeremiah Chapter 25. Read it baby,” she said.
David found the chapter and began reading it aloud. “The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon. So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem. For twenty three years from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day, the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.
And though the Lord has sent you all his servants the prophets again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. They said, Turn now, each of you from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your fathers for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you. But you did not listen to me declares the Lord and you have provoked me with what your hands have made and you have brought harm to yourselves.”
“Alright David,” said Aunt Tillie. “That’s enough. Now I want you to read Jeremiah 23.”
David pulled up a chair and read the whole chapter. He finished it and looked confused.
“David,” said Aunt Tillie in a very stern manner. “I believe the Lord is with you. But you will face some strong opposition if you come forward with what the Lord has shown you. You have a message for the people. But you must have a witness. The Bible declares that “out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established.” You have been given the burden of Jeremiah. His burden was to warn the people of what was to come. If you tell everyone about your dream, some will consider you a false prophet. Just like Jeremiah, you are very passionate about what you have been entrusted with.”
“Aunt Tillie,” David interrupted, “I already tried to tell someone. They laughed me to scorn.”
“You can’t let that stop you David,” she said. “It was bound to happen. You have been divinely called by God to do a specific work. In order to accomplish it, your prayer life must intensify greatly,” she said. “Is your prayer life strong enough to combat the forces of the enemy?”
“Well, I pray and read my Bible,” David said.
Aunt Tillie smiled and said, “Baby, you are about to become a prayer warrior. The dreams that God has shown you, cannot be ignored.”
“I know,” David said. “Because they won’t go away.”
“You have got to pray until hell itself is shaken by your prayers,” she said.
David began to look uneasy and sighed heavily.
“You are going to have to grab a hold to the horns of the altar and pray until you get results.”
David was stunned by her words. “By the what, Aunt Tillie?”
“The horns of the altar,” she said.
“This is so bizarre,” he said thinking about his recent find on the street.
“You may not believe this Aunt Tillie, but I am going to take those words literally.”
“Honey, you do whatever it takes, but pray through. It is the only salvation for what you have described in your dream,” she admonished him.
“Aunt Tillie?” David asked, “why do you think God chose me? There are so many other people who are ministers and qualified religious people to do his work.”
“Baby, God is God. There are certain things about what he does, that he doesn’t ask our permission about. One thing is for sure, He knows what’s in us. He knows who he can trust and he knows who is trusting in him. Some things He will do for his own good pleasure,” she said.
“Yes, I believe he does,” David agreed.
“The people you have seen, need your prayers. God did not give you a special burden to make your life miserable. He picked you out because he knows you will be obedient to the call. You have been chosen to help pray these people through their trials. They are not able to see the enemy that is against them, but you are. David are you willing to pray until they get a breakthrough?”
“I believe I am,” Aunt Tillie.
“Good, son,” she said smiling. “Now hand me that oil from the table.” David passed Aunt Tillie a bottle of anointing oil. He recognized it from the many times his pastor had used it to pray for the congregation.
“Aunt Tillie, before you pray can I ask you something else?” David said. “Why are they targeting three families?” he asked with a puzzled look.
“Oh, that’s Satan’s way of trying to make a perversion of the trinity,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Now David think back, when you saw the demons how were they grouped?”
“They were usually in groups of threes,” he replied. “As a matter of fact the more I think about it, they were always grouped in threes. In one of my dreams I clearly was able to identify Discouragement, Disappointment and Dissatisfaction together,” he said.
“Well, honey the enemy has always tried to imitate the Trinity,” she said. “He wants people to blame God for bad things that happen in threes.”
“Really?” said David.
“Oh yes,” said Aunt Tillie. “But as the word indicates, we’re not ignorant of his devices.” When a person accepts the Lord, the Trinity is at work then. They hear the Gospel first. Afterward there’s a connection, then conviction and finally conversion. God works in fire and water. In fire there’s flame, heat and smoke. The three go together, but they can be manifested separately. In water, there’s liquid, ice and steam. The same principle applies. The enemy invests a lot of time in doing negative things in threes, just to confuse people to thinking it’s God. And you know what baby, the people give power and attention to the devil by declaring that death and destruction come in threes. They seem to forget that death and life is in the power of the tongue. They’ll say something negative and sure enough someone will agree with them. That’s why it’s so important to know the truth according to the word of the Lord. Every time you hear a negative statement you must combat it with a positive one. That’s why you don’t hear me saying I’m catching a cold. For the last 30 years, I have always said, I’m catching a healing. Now get down on your knees and let me lay hands on you and anoint you with oil because you have work to do.”
As he knelt down she began to use her heavenly language and he felt the atmosphere of the room change with God’s presence. Before he left her, he disclosed another one of his dreams to her, knowing she would respond prayerfully.