Those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40.31)

When I was a child, I had terrible nightmares, which evidently started when I saw some Vietnam War images on the 6:00 news. Since this was the first time graphic war images were displayed in the media, my parents were caught by surprise, just like the rest of the public. I was an introverted and sensitive child, and could all too easily imagine the horrors I had glimpsed—as my parents discovered when they were awakened night after night to reassure me that there were no monsters or flames under my bed or hidden in a closet, ready to burst out and consume the entire family. They switched to late-night news, but it was too late to give any of us a good night’s sleep.

As I grew, I learned to keep my fears to myself (what teenager wants to wake her parents because of a bad dream?), but the nightmares continued, and I would lie awake for sweat-drenched eternities. One day I read this verse in Isaiah, and thought, wouldn’t it be nice if my dream-self could simply fly or run away from the dangers? All day I repeated the verse over and over as a prayer, and tried to visualize myself sprouting wings. That night men with guns chased me to the edge of a cliff; instead of falling to my death as usual, I soared away—and woke with joyous laughter bubbling up from deep within. This happened over and over again: each night I would pray for wings and strong muscles. In each dream the danger would follow me, leaving everyone I loved safe, and I would escape easily. Sometimes I even ran circles around the monsters, or swooped down low over the armed soldiers, to laugh at their inability to harm anyone.

Perhaps this wasn’t a miraculous answer to prayer; perhaps I had cured myself by visualizing a solution. But I couldn’t have done so without the inspiration of the verse from Isaiah—and I knew the source of this inspiration, knew that because of the hope he gave me, the Lord would renew my strength in any difficult situation, sleeping or waking.

Come, gracious Spirit, heavenly dove,
With light and comfort from above.
Come, be our guardian and our guide;
Over every thought and step preside. (ELW 404)

Contributed by Jean
Monday August 22, 2011
Liturgical Year A: Week 39
Liturgical Color: Green
Sunday Gospel reading:
Lectionary 21 (Proper 16)
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost