David Babecki … 10/17/2011
I had this dream sometime in the middle of October, so hopefully I’ll remember all the details. What I do remember is very vivid, so much so that it made a lasting impression. Up to this point, I’d only told Kim (the morning I woke up) and she thought it signficant, so I’m glad I’m able to share it here.
My dreams are usually in color, which isn’t too unusual; what is unusual is the clarity in which I saw it. I can only recall two other dreams like this (one of my father who passed away a bit over a year ago and one of my mother-in-law, who passed away about five years ago), to the extent that the detail was very defined, much like high definition. Aside from those other two, I haven’t had any other dreams like this.
To set the stage, I live in Palmetto and daily travel over the Green Bridge to go to my office in downtown Bradenton. The view is beautiful, with the sun rising from the east and its light glimmering over the Manatee River. It’s a great way to start the day, and as I travel over the bridge I usually thank the Lord for blessing me and my family for placing us here. However, my dream was a bit different from my daily drive.
My dream began with me standing on Riverside Drive in Palmetto, which is in a residential neighborhood (Riverside Drive is literally right next to the Manatee River). Looking across the river, the view is of downtown Bradenton to the left, and scanning left to right, one can follow it due west to DeSoto Monument. As I was looking across, I noticed the clouds directly over downtown Bradenton were agitated. Gray/black with some white, they were swirling in a clockwise motion with flashes of lightning. I remember thinking these were no ordinary clouds and I also remember they resembled those types of clouds that usually spawn tornadoes. What came out of them though, was no tornado.
Thinking something horrible was about to happen, I yelled out to whoever was near to take cover. There’s a small strip center with a marina to the left of where I was, and I remember yelling to people walking by that a fierce storm was about to happen; but they didn’t hear me, at least not initially. They kept on going about their business, going in and out of the shops, oblivious to the sky.
With a great blast of wind that carried across the river (I remember feeling it in my face), the clouds parted, and down came a huge wheel churning in a counter-clockwise motion. The best description of it that I can give is that of a paddlewheel, but more defined, with a smaller diameter. The wheel had two sides, with spokes extending from a hub on each side. The two sides were connected by lateral blades that were close together; they looked to be as sharp as razors. The wheel was spinning quickly, and as it descended lower out of the clouds, it spun faster, with a velocity that was lethal. Soon the wheel lowered enough to start hitting the buildings, and as it did, pieces of glass and steel began getting thrown everywhere, including into the river and across. The people around me, who hadn’t heard me before, began screaming and became frantic. I yelled at them to take cover and I remember seeing a stairwell near me that led down. I yelled at them to come over to where I was and pointed the stairs. Some frantic, some dazed, most went down the stairs to safety, but some stayed in the street, too terrified to move.
The wheel then began to lower even more, and as it did, it spun even faster, digging and tearing into the buildings of downtown Bradenton. Awful sounds of shrieking and grinding came across the river and with it, more debris began flying in every direction. I remember at that time thinking that there were people in those buildings, yet there was nothing I or anyone else could do. The wheel then seemed to level off, just about tree line height, and as it did, it began to move west through more buildings of the downtown area. At this time, with all the debris flying, it became too perilous to stay exposed, so I ran toward the stairs and and went down. I remember there were at least three, maybe four flights of stairs, so that I and the others were at least twenty feet below the surface. At the bottom, I remember seeing the people there; not frantic anymore, but stunned with dazed looks on their faces. I continued walking and came upon a door; when I opened it, there was an outside balcony that approached the river, with a railing to keep people from falling off (I don’t know why there would be a balcony next to the river when we were at least twenty feet down; this still bothers me). But from there, I could safely watch all the damage that was occurring. I remember thinking how tragic it all was, all the loss of life and all the buildings that had been demolished.
By the time the wheel came up on Desoto Monument, the damage was immense; nothing had been spared. It then ascended back into the storm clouds. The end of the dream was me looking across the river at all the broken buildings, blue/gray smoke rising from downtown Bradenton all the way west. I remember there was no sound.
About two weeks later I was crossing the Green Bridge on my way to my office during my morning drive. The sky wasn’t blue that day, with storm clouds over downtown Bradenton. These clouds were exactly like those in my dream; not swirling with the same speed as those in my dream, but swirling slowly. I called Kim during my drive (which I never do), to let her know what I was seeing. Things are speeding up.
One of the most common ways for the Lord to speak is through dreams (when we are asleep) and visions (when we are awake). He may use dreams because when we are asleep our rational mind cannot interfere with our listening or seeing. Visions are more common for those who have already learned to listen and see what God is doing.