The Wave and the Red Crane

I dreamt last night.

It was a dream that left me stunned and disturbed.

In my dream, I had a friend send me a link to a post titled "Check Out This Huge Wave: Wait until the end.  You can see bodies".  I clicked on the link but instead of a written post coming up, I was suddenly standing on a beach in front of the wave.  I had a bird's eye view though.  I saw the wave.  It was insurmountable.  It was a monster, taller than any wave we have ever seen. It built itself so high, higher than any building or infrastructure and then suddenly took it's plunge.  In the descent of the wave, I suddenly saw people in the wave.  They were stuck.  We couldn't save them, but people were screaming at the sight who were standing on the beach with me.  They were like rag dolls in the wave, unable to get free of the force of the water.  I thought, "Where is the rescue attempt?  Why aren't we saving them?" even though I knew it would be futile.  The wave was so strong and tumultuous, any attempt would result in more deaths.

Then, a red crane appeared.  It saved one person.  The person was a black man dressed in red.  They had pulled him out and were bringing him to safety, but the wave came alive, saw the rescue and swallowed the man whole along with the crane.

I woke up with a start from this dream.  I sat with these images and the voices screaming in my head.  I even had a conversation about BLM with my mom and husband over coffee.  Then, I saw Lecrae's new music video "Deep End" and saw the imagery he chose to communicate his pain, his loss, his frustration with where we are as a society.  He chose waves, people marching, signs, Martin Luther King, police radio.  And it brought my dream to fruition.

People are stuck in the wave.  It feels like we can't free them and that its hopeless.  We've watching this fight wage on for generations, each generation telling the next that things will change for them, but it hasn't.  It doesn't change.  The wave can represent multiple things: the government, society, police brutality, slavery, the people in control who we don't even pay attention to, the media and the list goes on.  But the wave is huge.  It's out of control.  It's growing.  It's swallowing people.  It's killing people.  And we try to save people and then end up killing them anyways.  Fighting "the man" when we can't touch them isn't fair and shows how corrupt our world is.  The wave is sucking people in to build its power, it's momentum and force, both dead and alive.

I looked up to see what red represents in dreams.  I went to dreammoods.com and it says,

"Red is an indication of raw energy, force, vigor, intense passion, aggression, power, courage, impulsiveness and passion. ... Consider the phrase "seeing red" to denote anger. Alternatively, the color red in your dream indicates a lack of energy. You are feeling tired or lethargic."

The black man dressed in red can represent the individual tired black people who are out in the streets asking, demanding, hoping for change but not finding it.  Instead, they are met with more violence.

The red crane can represent the energy of the BLM movement and the bravery it takes to go out to protest and not just once but multiple times, every day, as much as they can.  And those that can't are having difficult conversations, losing friendships, building friendships, battling family members and have taken on the task of fighting this injustice by education and learning about our country's real history.  People are learning about systemic racism and their own privilege.  They are signing petitions, writing emails to officials and donating to causes.  But it takes a toll on your rest, your mental health to come to grips with all of this and to step out into potential danger every time people enter a protest. We're fighting against a huge wave stemmed with hundreds of years of oppression, control, money and corruption.  Is this wave even possible to win against?

Yes.  It is.  And in the end, it will be defeated.

We will have victories on the way.  We have seen those who have done wrong arrested.  We have seen a community come together to speak out against this war that rages against people of color.  People are listening and showing up however they can.

But in the end, this world is broken.  It isn't meant to function in a way that is fair or just because of it's origins.  And if you've done any research on your own so far, you'll know race has been an issue since the beginning of time.  Viewing those that are different from ourselves has unveiled a prejudice that the broken parts of our souls manifest.  

You can note the racism in the Bible that God punishes and refutes in:

1. Jonah and the Ninevites
2. The Samaritans vs. Everyone else
3. Paul preaching to the Gentiles along with the Jews

among others!

In these scenarios, God condemns the prejudice these people had towards those God sent them to love.  

• While Jonah ran away from his job to go to Nineveh, God chased after his disobedience and punished him.  (Book of Jonah)
• While everyone hated the Samaritans, a Samaritan is the only one who helped a beaten man on the road that he found while the church looked the other way.  Jesus condemned the actions of those that wouldn't help but praised the Samaritan for his compassion despite the climate of society towards his people. (Luke 10:25-37)
• Paul wrestled about preaching to the Gentiles along with the Jews and it caused controversy in the Jewish communities and his own relationships and eventually he only preached to Gentiles after a rather large disagreement at Antioch. 

The strength of the oppressor doesn't mean we don't fight though.  We have to fight against injustice, against cruelty, against evil and stand up for what is right, for people to be treated fairly, to speak out for those who can't speak, to call on people to take a good look at their life and learn from others.

We cannot wage war against each other when we are fighting against the same evil.  BLM and Police are battling against each other while the media stirs the pot to continue hatred being distributed like a poisoned fruit to our souls.  The change will happen when we infiltrate our government with officials who are bought and paid for and remove them.  We have to take the war in the streets to the inside of the government buildings like Gary Chambers Jr in Baton Rouge, LA.  

While the world is set to fail, but there is still reason to fight.  There is still reason to show up for protests and share what we learn, share what we see, share what we know.  We cannot grow complacent now!  Don't let black out Tuesday be the only contribution you make.  Build your own red crane to save one guy.  Don't give up when your red crane gets crushed.  Build it again and keep trying!  We can fight this wave together.


Photo credit to: https://unsplash.com/@silasbaisch