Last night, I had an amazing dream….
I don’t normally share the details of my dreams, as I rarely remember them the next morning, but this was a dream like no other.
It began simple enough. I was walking along a path near the ocean. I could see the beautiful white sand, smell the salt in the ocean as the waves crashed into the beach, and felt the warm sun on my face and the ocean breeze in my hair.
As I continued down the path, I noticed a simple white church situated just to my right. A large white cross was located very prominently at the top of the steeple with a bell hanging from its belfry. As I took in the vision of the church, the bell suddenly began to toll. The sound seemed to beckon to me and I stepped toward its open doors.
As soon as I stepped inside, I was overwhelmed by the incredible emotions I felt. The feeling of love was immediate and palpable, as people swarmed to welcome me. I was amazed at seeing so many people busily working all around me. They were very focused on their tasks, yet laughing with one another, as they obviously enjoyed what they were doing. I sensed that they were preparing for an important event of some sort, and I was being given a sneak peek at their progress.
While I watched the busy workers, the vision suddenly changed to allow me to see the faces of these happy people around me. I was amazed to recognize the radiant faces as people from my past, adults I had known from my childhood who had since passed on years ago to their new home in Heaven.
Passed away years ago? Was I in Heaven?
I recognized former pastors and Sunday school teachers who counseled me as a child and answered every question I asked about God, leading the workers in their assigned tasks. I saw special friends I had lost years ago working fervently to prepare the church for the event to come, almost running at breakneck speed to complete their work. The smiles and hugs I received from those I knew were warm and heartfelt, but there seemed to be no time for talking. As happy as they were to see me, it was obvious to me that the work had to continue without interruption.
I stepped further into the main sanctuary of the church and could see that the preparations were continuing on a much larger scale. Beautiful garlands of flowers were being lifted to the ceiling by unseen hands, with direction being given from those people below as to where they should be placed.
As I gazed upon these happy faces, I immediately recognized the beautiful face and hazel eyes of my mother.
When her eyes met mine, her beautiful smile lit up her face and I watched her step towards me with her arms open wide. As we embraced, it was such a surreal feeling, as I could physically feel her arms around me and smell her perfume distinctly.
She smiled warmly as she put her hands on my shoulders, gave me a quick wink, and then quickly turned back to her work of directly the placement of flowers and decorations for the event to come. Sensing my visit was concluding, I stepped back out of the way of the activity escalating around me to allow the work to continue.
The dream suddenly came to an end, as the church disappeared from my sight and I found myself standing once again on the beach path, looking out toward the horizon just in time to see the sun setting on the ocean.
As amazing as it was to see my mother in this dream, I sensed that I was being allowed this short visit with her for a purpose. The personal implications for me are yet to be determined, but I feel the most important purpose is to share a message.
The message is that time is drawing near—Jesus Christ will be coming soon to receive His children. The excitement is building as preparations are being made, but there is more work to be done to reach hearts that need to know Him.
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you should.
Please don’t put it off. We don’t know the hour or the date, but we know this — He is coming back for His children – those who believe in Him and trust Him.
Please be there with me.
~ Jill Hicks Lawson