By Reba Phelps
Dreams have always had a way of reaching my soul and sometimes even confusing my soul. I know it must seem laughable, but I love the very notion of dreaming. The randomness and non-sense that accompanies each of them can leave me baffled, entertained or even concerned.
Shortly after my mother died I was flooded with so many emotions and I was not ready to let myself feel any of them. It was such an intense, deep pain and loneliness that I tried to keep tucked far away in the dusty corners of my mind. I would eventually let the grief run its course the way it is supposed to, but for a very long time I was a champion of pretending it wasn’t happening.
I could control my thoughts about her during the day but nighttime was a completely different scenario. I was actually afraid to dream about my own mother. It was unexplainable and I know it must sound strange but I actually prayed not to dream about her. The thought of her appearing alive in a dream scared me and I wanted no part of it.
Every night for almost three months I would go to bed a little anxious that this would be the night that I dreamed about her. As much as part of me longed to finally get past it I was leaving it in God’s hands to handle the when and how.
Nine years after my precious mother left this earth I can still recall the vivid details of when it finally happened.
The dream started with me asleep and the phone ringing loudly in the middle of the night jarring me to wake. When I clumsily answered the phone it was my mother. She sounded so cheerful and she asked how the kids were and wanted all the details of what she had missed so far. It was as if she was just away for a brief time and was catching up.
She inquired about how my siblings were doing and even asked about my work. Soon after the catching up was over she went on to tell me that she needed a favor from me. I was all ears and sitting on the edge of the bed wondering what kind of earthly favor I could perform for a heavenly body.
My mother asked me to purchase some streamers for her and some friends in heaven. I was so confused so I asked her why she needed streamers…was she hosting a party? She went on to explain that she needed them to hang from trees as decoration because they were having a huge celebration and there was going to be big crowd.
That, I totally understood. She was always such an amazing hostess so I knew she wanted the celebration to be perfect. I asked her if she was picky about the colors and she replied, “It doesn’t matter, just buy a lot.”
Just as she was hanging up the phone I stopped her and said, “Do I call you back once I have them or can you even receive phone calls there…and how do I get these to you?” There were so many questions to which she simply replied, “Just buy the streamers, you are asking too many questions”.
Soon after I purchased the streamers I woke up. The dream was so peaceful and so comforting. My dream showed me that she was happy where she was and I felt as though she was comforting me. The dream was also funny. The Lord knows I love humor and he really delivered in this dream.
I have dreamed about her numerous times since that night and there is one common theme to each and every dream.
She is very happy, healthy and seemed to have a new body. She is no longer wheelchair bound.
Sometimes my dreams can easily be chalked up to a variety of different conversations at work or with my children. But this dream was after many conversations with God. He heard my petitions which were mostly me begging…”please do not let me dream about my mother until I am ready and please don’t let it be weird.”
This dream also served as a reminder of what our days will be like when that time comes. There will be constant celebrating with our brothers and sisters in Christ and we will have new bodies.
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” – Philippians 3:20-21