The
extravagant labor of love was more beautiful than anything I’d ever seen. It
was a wedding dress—bridal regalia for the love of His life, His Bride.
Brilliant beadwork adorned the soft buffalo hide. The four sacred colors—red,
yellow, black, and white—were being beaded together with golden sinew to form
wondrous symbols of love and adoration. I watched as the aged but timeless hands
worked tirelessly on the dress. Much of it was finished and it glistened in the
golden light. He reached for a bead, then another, then another…all pierced
and held securely by the golden thread of His Spirit.
I
curiously asked Him what part of the dress He was working on. “The shawl,”
He said. He thought of her beauty, His bride of the earth…how she loves to
dance and swirl. A smile crossed His lips as he pondered her soon-to-be finished
dance shawl. “She’ll soar like a golden eagle,” He mused. “I can’t
wait to see her dance!” As He went back to work, I watched Him reach for a red
bead. I noticed that there weren’t many left in the container that held them.
Then He looked up at me with His piercing, focused eyes of love and said, “I
need more red beads. Will you get me more?” I glanced to the unfinished shawl
try to discern what kind of pattern He was beading. “It’s a picture of My
grace,” He said. “No one will know what it looks like until I’m done
beading it, but I can’t complete it without more red beads. Won’t anyone get
me more red beads?” The tone of His voice changed. I could hear a difference.
There was a depth of desire and longing in His voice that I hadn’t noticed
before. I knew I had to get Him red beads.
I spoke up, “I’ll go get them…will you send me?” “Yes!” He said. “You can go…Thank you!” His words filled me with excitement. Suddenly I realized that I didn’t know where to go to find the beads. “Master…where do I go to find Your red beads,” I asked. He smiled and said that they could be found in the highways and byways, in the cities and in the country…all I had to do was look for them and I would find them. Before I left, He turned to me and said, “Let me show you her dance.” He touched my head and instantly I saw a dancer swirling and twirling, her feet barely touching the ground. She reminded me of an eagle, but also a butterfly. Every time her feet touched the ground there was a burst of light and it remained glowing. I looked across the path where she danced. There was a pattern to her steps. The more she danced, the more the land glowed, and the more intricate the pattern became. I was moved beyond words. I thought of peace, freedom, and victory. But the dance represented so much more than that. It was a dance of love, pure and holy.
I shook myself back to my mission—to find the red beads. I knew that the dance I was seeing wouldn’t happen until those beads were sewn into place and the shawl was finished. “Anytime you have trouble finding My beads, remember the dance,” He said as I opened the door. “How could I forget it?” I asked. “Remember your mission. There will be distractions. Remember the dance,” He said speaking softly now. “I will,” I said, and walked out the door.
(Excerpted and condensed from my journals of a recent vision experience)