Oasis...

Crawling on my knees underneath the piercing sunlight, I slump forward exhausted from dehydration. I look everywhere and sand is all I see! I am too weary and dehydrated to even cry, my lips are cracked and my throat is dry. I finally lay flat in the hot sand and reach forward with my blistering hands. Is that water I see?! Out in the middle of nowhere, palm trees and a beautiful waterfall splashing into a crystal clear stream of hope. With all my might I cry out and drag myself to the edges of this beautiful Oasis. As I lean over into the clear crystal waters, I dip my bloodied hands. The sudden surge of coolness and the refreshing taste of life brings me to clarity once again. As I look into my reflection I see a well worn man with bloodied lips from the sun and blisters from the heat. My face shocked me, the sun hat beaten me for days. I was its slave and it was my unrelenting master! Though completely flabbergasted by my own reflection I drank as much water as I could take. I slowly walked underneath the beautiful waterfall, washing all the sand from my body. It felt like eternity. Like a distant promise of hope. Suddenly the water became as sand and then.....

     Everything faded to black and I awoke. So drenched in my dream, I could have sworn it was reality. There I was laying on the couch in the middle of the night and my throat was dry from the sleeping pills that I had taken earlier that night. I slowly sat up and looked all around, making sure that I really wasn't dreaming anymore. I rubbed my face and tried to say a few words but only slurred and garbled sounds became of me. I was even more frustrated that my nightmare was more interesting than my reality. I realized at that very moment, my inner most fears were crying out. I was really terrified, my circumstance left me in a desert. I could hardly speak at times and my mind was crying out for some understanding. Looking for the Oasis in the middle of my broken dreams. I was desperately seeking for understanding, for hope and for love. Someone to tell me that I was going to be ok.
     Later that week I attempted my first practice run. The beginning of my dream to raise awareness for the sick and to pursue my new hope. To make a difference! During my few years of battling stroke symptoms I have learned to lean on the Oasis of my hope. I have also learned that where one dream dies another must grow!

John 4:14