God said, “My presence will go with you. I’ll see the journey to the end.”
Exodus 33:14 The Message
It was August, 2003. An exploratory finger in my mouth confirmed my worst fears: my cancer was back for the third time. I was terrified, devastated. How could I go through this horrible thing again? Was this the beginning of the end? I began to despair.
Then I had a dream.
Some background: for years during my quiet time, I imagined a clearing in the woods full of sunlight, with a big rock in the center. That’s where I met Jesus. Sometimes I was a little girl-me with pigtails, running to Jesus; He met me and joyfully lifted me and swung me around. Sometimes I was adult-me; sitting quietly at His feet talking, just being with Him. It was my happy, safe place.
So, in the dream, I was brought to the edge of this same clearing. It was night and Jesus was there, praying. And I finally recognized the place: it was Gethsemane.
My companion, whom I now knew to be the Holy Spirit, spoke softly in my ear.
“He went through what He went through surrounded by hate so you could go through what you must go through surrounded by love.”
A dream, yes. A truth, too, given at the point of deep need. We are,
all of us, no matter what is happening in our lives, going forward surrounded by Love. And where Jesus is, we are safe.
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This Prayer for Protection was written by James Freeman for all soldiers during World War II.
The Prayer for Protection is one of two Freeman poems carried to the moon by Apollo astronauts. In 1969, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin carried a copy with him on the first manned moon landing. In 1971, a microfilm copy of Freeman’s poem, “I Am There,” was left on the moon by Apollo XV astronaut James B. Irwin.