Chapter 9: SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE

Swiftly, the white Eagle flew to the throne room in the third heaven. As He descended to the sea of glass, I noticed that there was no one in sight except my heavenly Father. I knew that others had to be there, but I could not see them.

I climbed from the white Eagle’s back. Instantly, He became Jesus. He grabbed me around the waist, picking me up and swinging me around several times. He was laughing. I too was laughing. We were breathless from excitement when He set me down.

PRESENTING THE ROBE

“Come,” He smiled, gesturing toward my Father. He put His left hand at the back of my waist to escort me forward.

I was still hugging the robe when we approached the throne. Jesus indicated that I should hand it to Him, and I did. The Lord held it up, letting it unfold to its full length in all its lustrous beauty Then He laid it on the sea of glass before our Father.

“The covenant garment has been returned, Father,” He said. We both prostrated ourselves before Him.

“I am pleased,” my Father said. “Place it in My hands.” We rose. Jesus lifted the garment to our Father’s hands of light. God the Father received it, cupping it in both hands as you would a baby chick. His hands became laser bright. I diverted my gaze. When I looked again, the garment had disappeared.

“Thank you,” my Father said to me.

SOMETHING NEW

“Now My sister, My bride,” Jesus said, stepping between my Father and me. He turned to face me. “Look at Me,” He said.

I did. My Father placed His hands of light on Jesus’s shoulders. Then Jesus raised His right hand to my forehead. Light shot from His finger as He wrote upon me. It was a strange feeling.

“I write upon you My new name,” He said.

“Sealed,” said the Holy Spirit, who must have been present all along. I felt a stamped pressure over the area where Jesus had just placed His name.

Now I had two names on my forehead. My Father had placed His name there when He asked me to be His chancellor (secretary to a king).

Jesus smiled at me. “Something new,” He said. “Now you have something new that you will wear forever. You are marked and sealed, My sister, My bride.” My Father removed His hands from the Lord’s shoulders.

DEPARTURE

Jesus took my right hand in His. “I must go,” He said. “When I return, I will give you your heart’s desire. This, My love, will seal your heart.” He continued looking deeply into my eyes. He was so remarkably handsome, so beautiful in holiness, that at times He took my breath away. “Anna, I am coming soon,” He said. He kissed my hand and looked into my eyes again. “Soon,” He said—then disappeared.

WITH MY FATHER

There was a pause as my Father allowed me to savor all that the Lord had said to me.

Eventually, God the Father said, “My child, come up here.” He picked me up and placed me on the armrest of the throne.

“Anna, who is beloved of My Son,” He said, “I would not only feed you from My hand, but also I would feed you from My very heart. Purity and holiness are not words that describe My qualities. They are tangible in the person of My Son. He is not a shadow or a reflection—but My heart manifested.” He continued, “The spirit alone can understand this. For the spirit comes from Me and understands its own. The spirit transcends all boundaries necessitated on Earth. Its knowing is a pure knowing because, as in the giving of all such gifts, pure knowing comes from above.”

FROM HIS HAND

He held out His hand. “Here, Anna, eat this. Not manna from above, I feed you from My very heart.” His hand of light held in its palm something that looked like—nothing. I could see nothing in His hand. I looked toward His face area, then back to His hand.

Suddenly, the center of His hand burst into flame. The blaze shot up very high, then reduced to a small fire. Then the flame disappeared entirely. In the center of His hand of light were tiny, smoldering nuggets. They were coals or smoldering light (if light could burn).

“Eat from My hand,” He said.

I leaned over and ate from His hand. My Father seemed pleased. I wondered why this gave Him such joy.

THE FATHER’S DESIRE

He spoke, “It is My desire to raise up many white eagles, Anna, to raise up a bride who will love My Son more than his or her own soul life. I desire to raise up a priesthood that will be incense in My nostrils, breathed in as a sacrifice and breathed Out carrying life to others.

“I am your Father. A father’s greatest desire is to have children to whom he can give all. I have such a child in My only begotten Son. But I long to raise up those of My adopted children who will draw near to Me and will not be satisfied with less. When such a one longs to eat from My hand, I am given much joy.”

MY FATHER’S HOUSE

“Anna,” He said, “life in this household is a simple life—meals around the family table, concern over family members, joy over births into the family, the celebration of anniversaries, the sharing of labors side by side. Simple.” I thought of the Lord’s words, “Unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” It was as though we needed to reach some saturation point in complexity before we were ready to turn and simply seek Him.

He continued, “The splendor of My majesty lies in the depth of My love.”

TO NEST ABOVE

“Your feathers are white now, My eagle,” He said. “You are ready to nest above.” He waved His hand to allow me to see an ivory palace on a high mountain.

“This is yours, if you want it,” He said.

“It is very beautiful, Father,” I said slowly, not wishing to seem ungrateful. “But,” I smiled wistfully, “I would never be there. I would always be away from home because I would want to be near You. You are my home, Daddy, just as You are my Beloved’s home. It has taken me a great deal of time to realize this. But now I know that there is nothing on Earth or in heaven that I desire. I want only my Father. I want Jesus. I want my friend, the Holy Spirit. If I may live where I would be the happiest, allow me to live amid the coals of fire within You. Let me be a pillar in the temple of my God, never to go out again.” My Father gave a small cry of pure joy. “You have chosen,” He said.

ALOES

Suddenly, there was a release of the fragrance of aloes. I knew that aloes meant “little tents” (so named for the intimacy of the bridal tent/chamber). I too had chosen intimacy. I had chosen nearness to my God.

I breathed in the fragrance. So did my Father. It was satisfying.

THE CROWN

My Father continued, “Anna, My child, you will need to borrow your crown for the ceremony. You will wear it for this special occasion. But it will not be placed into your hands until your service on Earth is completed.” A crown of gold came from my heavenly Father. He held it higher than my eye level. The crown had two gems. The large emerald that my Father had given me was in the center. The slightly smaller emerald given to me by Jesus was on the side. There were golden sockets for other jewels. No other gemstones were present at this time, however.

He continued, “I have added to your crown twenty-four sapphires.” These immediately appeared, encircling the large emerald on the front.

“Thank You, Daddy,” I said. I wondered how I merited these gems.

My Father answered my thoughts. “You cannot earn the uncreated,” He said. “But you can grow up [into Christ] to manifest the uncreated. Something borrowed,” He added, “something blue.”

THE ATTENDANTS

My Father continued, “Twenty-four stars attend this crown. They will bring to you the covenant garment, your crown, and your veil. These will dress you and attend you at the ceremony.” I saw that the crown had twenty-four points around the top. I wondered if there was some connection between the points of the crown and the angelic attendants. But He did not give an explanation.

“Is there something that I need to do, Daddy?” I asked.

He answered, “Sleep with henna on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet as an outward sign [of an inner grace]. My Son is coming,” He said. “Be ready.” Twenty-four angels that looked like young women appeared on the sea of glass. They were dressed in white. My Father handed to them the crown, the covenant garment, and the veil. The gown and veil also came from His own person.

“My child,” the Father continued, “you have My blessing.” His glory came from Him and kissed my forehead.

“Thank You, Daddy,” I said.

He picked me up and placed me in front of the twenty-four angels. “Go with your attendants,” He said.

We all bowed. Then the angels parted to allow me to pass through their number. They escorted me from the throne room.

Instantly we were walking across the meadow in the Garden of God.

HENNA

We walked to the tree of life. I was silent. I did not feel like talking. The angels were silent also. A very important event lay before me. But I did not know what it was or even how it would look.

Once we reached the trunk of the tree, the attendants busied themselves applying henna paste to the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet. The air hung heavy with the smell of the spice.

I held on to the tree that was strangely warm. I did not watch the angels because I was nervous, distracted.

Wishing to encourage me, one of the angels said, “Henna is the last of the spices.” It faintly registered with me that I had been carried through Esther’s preparations.’ When the statement did break through to my consciousness, I thought, “How right that I should enter the kingdom through the shed blood of Jesus, and now before this important event, an outward sign should be placed upon me.” Within myself, I thanked the Lord for forgiving me. Then I continued aloud, “I ask for forgiveness for any sin that I have committed, and I forgive everyone for sins committed against me.” I looked at the angels, “It says in the Word to confess your sins to one another.” The angels looked bewildered. Then I realized that angels do not confess to one another. I changed the subject. “Does anyone know what I am to do here at the tree of life?”

REST

“Rest,” one angel said. “You have experienced much.”

I laughed wearily. “Yes,” I affirmed. “But I am very excited and nervous.” “Resting in the tree of life will strengthen you,” another added. “We will lift you into its branches,” said another. Before I could think about it, they lifted me. They began carrying me upward. It seemed as though the tree accommodated us, for we struck no branches.

High in the tree, they lay me in a juncture that cradled me. It was very comforting to rest in its branches.

“We will return when you have rested,” an attendant said. “Thank you,” I smiled at them.

They were gone.

I lay there looking up into the branches of the tree, thinking of my Lover, my Friend. The soft lights of the leaves and fruit soothed me. I did not think I could rest. But I did.

Before falling asleep, I lifted my hands to look at them again. I spoke quietly, “O my Beloved, what is going to happen?”