So I walked straight up to the snake. I stretched out my hand, fully aware it would bite me, but I did not care. I had a greater purpose in mind. As expected, the snake clamped down with all its sharp teeth. But that was the moment I needed. With my hand still in its mouth, I pressed its head against the concrete with all my strength. I crushed the head of the snake.
To some, this might seem like just a dream. But to me, it was hope.
The dream continued. I went to the doctor to see what damage the bite had caused. The amazing result was that the only injury was to the flesh where the teeth had touched. No poison had entered my body, none at all.
But there was one part of the dream I did not like. A few days later, I walked through the same area, and the snake I had crushed was moving again. It was severely damaged, barely functioning, but still alive. This time, I stepped on its head and crushed it completely. I wish the first crushing had been the end, but I cannot ignore that it took more than one attempt to finish the job.
There will always be more snakes to face in life. But I knew that if I could crush the head of the one threatening my family right now, I would feel such relief and joy.
This leaves me wondering: What about the snakes other people are battling? Can I crush someone else’s snake? It seems that each of us has our own serpent to defeat, our own fear, temptation, burden, or darkness. Yet I hope that the snake in my dream, the one harming my whole family, is the very one I have the power to crush in real life. After all, it was not just attacking me. It was affecting everyone. I was simply the one positioned to stop it.
Whether or not others believe that dreams can carry meaning, I do. Since childhood, dreams have helped me see things I might not have understood any other way. I am still learning how to apply this one, but I know it filled me with hope. And that hope rests in my Savior Jesus Christ. He is the One with true power, and through His atoning sacrifice, He gives me strength.
This dream reminded me of Genesis 3:15:
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
In Hebrew, the word bruise means “to crush or grind.” The very heel that was bruised will ultimately crush Satan. Through Christ, we can overcome the world and return to our Father.
Satan has no physical body and therefore no literal children. His seed are those who follow him, both the spirits he led away before this life and those who choose his enticements now. The seed of the woman refers to Jesus Christ, the only mortal ever born of both an earthly mother and a Heavenly Father.
Christ is the One who crushes the serpent’s head. And through Him, we can crush the snakes in our own lives too.
