Terry's Dream-A Short Story
By Gerald Sumeracki
Another day on the job. The Day Shift Commander had me assigned to the "C" Concourse at Metro Airport. Just thinking about another day with Spartan Security, the security force that worked that location, brought a suppressed yawn. As a certified policeman I often dreamed of more challenging assignments but in all fairness to life's game, someone had to do this work. Airport duty was clean, comfortable and above all, safely boring, just as boring as Officer Ralph Simmons and his Bible reading.
My pal Terry had been assigned to the "D" Concourse. We would have occasion to see each other on our duty rotation, a sort of "boredom break" devised by our Chief that none of us really thought at all beneficial. This morning I had noticed something different about Terry at roll call. He was not the usual ball of fire he exhibited most mornings, no, this morning something was wrong. He seemed out of sorts, melancholy and somewhat depressed and I determined that at lunch I would try to help him snap out of it.
Nothing much happened during my first stretch on the "C" assignment other than checking out the pocket contents of eighteen men who "beeped" the magnetometer while passing through my check point. All was as usual. On my rotation to the "D" assignment where Terry spent his first two hours, I asked him about his lunch plans. "Hey dude, wanna have a bite together at the cafeteria later or did you brown bag it?" Terry seemed stressed as he gave me a weak smile. "Sure Mike, no brown bag today. In fact I'd like to talk to you about something anyway." "Great" I replied, "see you there at noon."
During my time on the "D" Concourse I though a lot about Terry and wondered what it was that was bothering him. He had been fine yesterday and as far as I knew nothing tragic had occurred in his personal life that would account for this unusual state of depression...or was it fear? I really got anxious to get to that lunch meeting. Terry was a good friend and my concern was turning into worry.
We met in the cafeteria line at five past noon and decided to play it safe with a small salad and a Tuna sandwich. Terry and I both opted for a coffee as our beverage since it was one of those cool Spring days that let you know Winter just might bounce back. After we had our sandwich and salad, Terry stated, "This is gonna sound strange coming from me Mike!" I put on my concerned face as I looked Terry in the eyes and said, "Listen Terry, I can see you need to talk and you know me, we are pals and your problems are my problems."
Terry smiled, "Thanks loads Mike. Please keep this conversation under your hat." My friend's face took on a sad expression as he continued, "I had a dream last night, no, more than a dream, a living Hell!" Terry reached for his cup of coffee and I noticed his hand...it was shaking! "Go ahead Terry, you know I can keep this between you and me."
Terry starred into nothingness as he began to relate his tale. "I was driving home from the gym after work last night and as I turned into my parking slot, a cat ran in front of my car. I slammed on my brakes. Being the "know-it-all-cop," that I am, I of course had not fastened my safety belt. I lunged forward and all went black."
"All of a sudden I was aware of a peace and joy I cannot describe and I opened my eyes. All around me there was beauty I cannot begin to explain, everything and anything wonderful you could ever imagine was far outdone in what I was experiencing. I was in awe of beauty, surrounded by it, consumed in the caress of its relationship toward me. In an instant I saw and experienced wonders that were so exciting and wonderful, wonders beyond the comprehension of the human mind. I knew I was in heaven and it was a joy beyond description. What I experienced cannot be described Mike, not because I don't know how to express what I experienced, rather because it is impossible to express!"
"As I rejoiced in the splendor of it all I found myself before God Almighty and when I looked upon Him I beheld purity itself, undescribable splendor and glory. I fell to my face as would a dead man."
Terry's face registered anguish and despair and what he was saying about his dream should not have caused such a response. "Go on pal, I'm listening" said Mike. Terry continued, "Mike, I was face to face with God and I knew I was about to hear something terrible. God spoke to me and his words were few. He finally said �Depart from Me you evildoer into the everlasting torments of Hell.'"
Mike was hanging on Terry's every word. "What happened next was what I'll never forget Mike. I was immediately out of God's presence. I was in, I was in....a place... no, in a state of being, a state where the crushing presence of pure evil pressed me on every side."
"Mike, I was aware of pure hatred, a frightening presence, existing all around me and yet never touching me except for the impartation of utter and total fear. I could not see it, feel it, touch it, hear it or smell it. I had come to a place of total sensual depravation, I could not even sense myself! I existed in a void and that void hated me. Pure evil was to be forever present yet not sensed except in the knowledge of its proximity."
Mike looked at his friend and for the first time in his life he felt a real fear. Terry continued, "It is hard to express the anguish I felt, it is more than hard...it is impossible. God had condemned me to Hell for all eternity. All the glorious wonders of heaven I had seen were now lost, the greatest being the glory of God himself. I was cursed eternally with those memories, cursed to exist in a hateful void, the place called Hell, never again to see all that I had been created for. All was lost for the sake of my selfish and egotistical pursuits and my unwillingness to listen to the God who provided all. I would never be able to see, to hear, to feel, or experience companionship, not even to be able to hear my own screams of anguished loss. I was condemned Mike, condemned to exist eternally aware of what I had lost and aware of what I had come to inherit through my neglect. In choosing myself throughout life, I had chosen Hell eternally."
Mike interjected, "Hey Terry, what do you mean chosen?" Terry looked up and continued. "Mike, one thing I left out when I related the words of God. Before I was condemned He asked me this question. �What did you do with Jesus?'" Mike was shocked when Christ's name was spoken for it was that very name that had been on his mind lately after he had watched a Billy Graham Crusade on TV. Terry went on. "I told God I knew who Jesus was but I had never taken the time to get to know him personally. Don't know why I said that to God but it was true. I know now that had I accepted Jesus personally as my Savior as all my Christian friends had urged me to do, heaven would have been mine."
Terry finished his tale by saying that he was snapped out of his dream state by a voice that was saying, "You all right man, you all right?" It appears that Terry sustained a bump on his head caused by hitting the steering wheel during that sudden stop. During his brief state of unconsciousness, Terry had been given a gift, a revelation of spiritual reality. A chance to change.
Terry once again asked Mike to keep the story under wraps but he confided that what he had experienced was too real to let slide. There were dreams and then there were "DREAMS" and only a fool would neglect to appreciate the difference. He said that God had made him aware of something very real and that unless he got in touch with Jesus and accepted the salvation that Christ's blood purchased, Hell would be his destiny. Terry then added, "And yours too Mike!"
Mike knew Terry well enough to know that what he had claimed to experience was real. "Terry, something in my heart and soul was quickened as you told me this dream and I think what you experienced was meant for me too. I admit I have given little thought to eternal things but I now know it is urgent I do so. Can I tag along on your quest for Jesus?"
Terry smiled, "I hoped you'd join me in this Mike, I now know what Hell is and it is nothing to joke about or consider as a fable. Hell is an all consuming eternal existence of total depravation, an existence of absolute loneliness, eternal self and only self and the ever present vivid memory of what was lost."
Mike smiled and said, "You know dude, making this turn around and walking towards God's light is something we should encourage all our friends and family to do. Who in their right mind would choose eternal self instead of the true glory God has prepared for all who will respond to His call? How shall we begin?" Terry began to laugh as he said, "Guess its time we talked to our Bible carrying pal Ralph, I'm sure he's on Concourse "A" just about now...won't he be surprised!"
In His eternal abode, God smiled as Jesus watched the opening hearts of two new friends!