Dreams and Visions

The fourth testimony is how I became saved.

Throughout the Bible God communicates with His people through visions and dreams. During Adam and Eve's days in the garden, God spoke to man without barrier, but after the fall, God comes to His favorite believers in the form of an angel or through visions (with the exception of Moses who was honored to be in the actual presence of God). Since Jesus's era, however, most people either scoff at the idea of dreams sent from God or don't discuss them for fear of being scoffed at.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:Acts 2:17 KJV

Well, scoff if you must, but I'm going there. I would say that I wake up remembering my dreams 5-6 mornings of the week. Usually these memories are significantly diminished by lunch. In most cases I remember the general idea of the dream but not the details—I'll remember I was with my mom but not where, why, or what happened. Most of my dreams have slipped away by the next morning. Some I write down for story ideas, and while the story idea stays, the images in my mind slip away. I have had one dream in my life that has never faded; this dream occurred approximately 15 years ago in the month of March. Moses had a burning bush. Jacob saw a ladder to heaven. I had the following dream.

It was early in the morning, and I was looking for my mother at home. I found her on the glass porch, which in my dream had been converted back to the screen porch of my even younger days, but what was happening outside took my mind away from her. There was a white lattice cross with ribbon and flowers situated in my backyard where the dog pen should have been. Angels sang, their harmonies falling upon me gently creating a melody I had never heard before. The sky blended smoothly from pink to the faintest hint of purple to blue—it looked like a sunset, but in my mind I knew it was sunrise. Out of the sky, directly above the cross was a bold streak of lightning that ended in a ball of fire just above the top of the cross. It looked as though it had been drawn with colored pencil, shaded in orange, red, and yellow. Then I awoke, heart racing, confused, and a bit scared.

I didn't understand the dream initially. I just knew I couldn't shake it; it didn't fade like other dreams. Then little by little each piece revealed itself to me:

The song the angels sung	Where You There? — I heard it at an Resurrection play about a month later. The dream's theme is echoed in the song. I wasn't there, but God took me there to know the truth of Jesus's glory.
Lattice cross and flowers	The Resurrection play I went to situated the choir in rows and columns that made up the shape of a cross. This cross shape was accentuated by white stage walls, draped in flowers. It resembled the white lattice cross.
Sunrise and looking for my mother	Sunrise is when Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of James, went to the tomb and discovered stone rolled away. It was sunrise for me as a believer—I had heard the teachings and believed what was written but it was time for me to go searching for my Creator, for me to rush to His tomb and discover that He has risen. My search for the Creator manifested as a search for mom, my Earthly creator.
Confusion and fear	Up until the settling of this dream, I didn't understand what I was saying when I repeated John 3:16. I had never had anyone close to me die to understand the "permanence" of death, and with all the colors and festivities surrounding Easter, I didn't understand the solemnness of Jesus's sacrifice. The confusion and fear that washed over me when I awoke was the understanding that Jesus was beaten, spat upon, and mocked, then hung before people to die a slow suffocating death while they looked on at His shaming. My confusion was the warring of my heart breaking at His suffering and rejoicing at His triumph. My fear was the emergence of the fear of God.
Lightning fireball	The image of God given in the Bible is always associated with fire, from the burning bushing (Exodus) to Jesus's eyes (Revelation). This was God's presence in the dream.

This is how I went from being an unaccountable child to a saved believer. God woke me up, told me to pay attention, and brought the truth of His message to my heart.