Context:
I had this dream while I was visiting my best friend Kyle in Nashville. Kyle has an amazing grasp on the joy and delight found in knowing the Lord, and the excitement that we believers have in anticipation of our Heavenly home; something I had a hard time grasping back then. The night before I had this dream, I found myself sitting at a table in an international market enjoying Mangosteen juice and and a plate of unrecollected Asian cuisine (I think mung bean was involved.) Around me was Kyle, and his eclectic group of friends he knew from school, none of which I really had met before that night. As the night progressed, they would often talk of Heaven with this wild, childlike exuberance, a concept I found so foreign. In fact, it kinda made me depressed. So I successfully clammed up for the rest of the night, avoiding any real interaction with them, and just observed from what might as well have been 10,000ft.
That night, I expressed to Kyle how disconnected I felt from talks of Heavenly things. We had an amazingly constructive conversation as we sat in his Jeep Wrangler in his parents driveway.
The Dream:
This dream places me in some sort of ethereal location that is rather hard to describe. It was a peaceful, natural environment; bright, sunny and heaven-like. It had a self contained feeling, sort of like an island, and appeared to be surrounded by a dense whiteness. Wherever it was, it felt like I belonged. There was a good number of people there with me and all seemed to be celebrating and simply delighting in the Lord, this included myself; and in some way, it felt like the celebration was for me as well. Though I didn't confidently recognize the faces of the people in the group, I knew that they were friends. I do remember feeling some sort of presence from the Evoke Ministries group I had and have been involved with for quite some time.
Anyway, running across the back of the undefined area was a chain-link fence with what looked like an African savanna sprawled out behind it. Immediately on the savanna side of the fence was a large crowd of African men and women all carrying on with drums and singing in celebration as well.
Soon, the group of people on my side of the fence began to join hands in a circle. I think they were going to pray or something. However, I was still off by myself still delighting in the Lord and worshiping him. It was a very rich feeling of comfort and satisfaction that is hard to explain but easy to recognize when experienced. The group tried to get me to come join in the prayer circle, but I felt like I just wanted to continue to sit in God's presence in the way I was.
Then a woman from Evoke Ministries, Susan, spoke up for me, telling the rest of the group. "He's fine where he is, let him be!"
After some undefined amount of time, I came across an older man. He had a gentleness about him and kind eyes. His hair was white and he had a soft, warm smile. He preceded to give me a hug that I can't even begin to describe. As he enveloped me in his arms, he lifted me up off of the ground to a height that was impossibly higher than he was tall. (12 feet off of the ground is what comes to mind.) As he held me suspended there in this supernatural position, he began to whisper to me. Though I don't remember or couldn't comprehend what he was saying, I knew that it was loving, kind and that it was true.
Suddenly, I saw from my vantage point up above, another old man come walking up. He had a crotchety demeanor and a rather sour look on his face. He began to blaspheme the man who held me aloft, telling me that the man didn't mean what he was say and that he was lying, but I had none of what the second man was saying. I told off the second man, saying, "No, you are the liar. This man loves me and speaks the truth!" (likely paraphrased). Then I woke up.
