Loved Ones Appear in Dreams
Illustration
Stories
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. (v. 13)
Do your loved ones come to you in dreams?
That was the question I asked in a Facebook post one day after I woke from a startling dream in which I saw my late brother, Alan. He appeared in one of those vivid dreams that come just before waking. He looked like he always looked when we saw him at family gatherings, dressed in a familiar plaid shirt and faded blue jeans. I was shocked at first. And then Alan smiled, reached out, touched my arm, and said, “How are you John?”
It was, as these kind of visitation dreams tend to be, more real than real--surreal even: unforgettable, etched in memory forever, unlike most ordinary dreams which fade quickly. Was it real presence? It felt like it, but whatever it was, it was real comfort.
Do your loved ones come to you in dreams?
Julie Jackson Robertson of Oshkosh answered emphatically, “Yes, I've had it happen on several occasions. One of these times I was sitting in my living room shortly after my grandfather passed. He lived in Tomah, WI. I was just meditating to myself after a hard day’s work. I don't know if I dozed off or what, but my grandfather came and started to talk to me. He told me there were videos he had taken with a video camera. I knew absolutely nothing about these videos. He told me to ask grandma where they were and to get them out and we could watch them at Christmas with everyone.
“Grandpa visited with me for a little while more during this time, with small talk. All I know is when I opened my eyes I could still feel a very strong presence of him by my fireplace. It seemed to be coming from above my mantle, but I couldn't see him anymore with my eyes open. I called out, “Grandpa?” I felt a light coolness, like a light wind. The conversation and his presence felt sooo real.”
Julie added, “I later called my grandma (I was hesitant about it because I didn't want her to think I was nuts or to emotionally upset her in anyway), but when I asked her about it she said yes, grandpa had indeed had a camera with a movie projector but she didn't know where it was. The next time I went there with my husband and kids she told us she thought they might be in her attic, she couldn't find them anywhere else. My husband climbed up in the attic and, sure enough, there they were. We watched them on grandpa’s old movie projector that Christmas. I could feel his presence amongst us!”
A friend from southwest Wisconsin wrote about a sister who had terminal cancer, who, she said, “… came to me in a dream a month before she passed. I dreamt that I got out of bed and went to the living room and saw her sitting on the couch. I asked her what she was doing here, as she lived in Ohio. She told me she came to let me know that it was okay, that she was going to die and didn't want me to be sad anymore, and also that she wanted me to let the rest of the family know that it was okay. It seemed so real at the time that I wasn't even sure it was a dream! Later that summer, at our family reunion, we were all missing my sister and wishing she could be there. When I was going to my car to get something, my phone rang, and it was a call coming from my deceased sister's phone. I answered it, but no one was there. I showed it to her daughter and she was shocked! She said she had her mother’s phone turned off four months earlier!”
Some of these kinds of dreams are both comforting and perplexing.
Jae Lindemann of Kenosha wrote, “My youngest son died of Covid complications in June 2021. I've been sad there has been no communication from him. But about one month ago, I had a very short dream as I was waking up in the morning. In it, he was looking fit, calm and healthy. He did not ask about his wife, children or me. He knew his wife was in a new relationship but didn't care. That was the part that puzzled me.”
And then there are dreams that are both reassuring and wondrous.
Mark Bromley of Whitewater tells that, “Some years ago, I had a dream in which I was walking along a river. My father, grandfather and father-in-law were walking and talking together on the opposite side. They spoke to me and I asked if I could join them. They said that my time would come but had not yet arrived. It was a warm and comforting dream.”
Do your loved ones come to you in dreams?
Do your loved ones come to you in dreams?
That was the question I asked in a Facebook post one day after I woke from a startling dream in which I saw my late brother, Alan. He appeared in one of those vivid dreams that come just before waking. He looked like he always looked when we saw him at family gatherings, dressed in a familiar plaid shirt and faded blue jeans. I was shocked at first. And then Alan smiled, reached out, touched my arm, and said, “How are you John?”
It was, as these kind of visitation dreams tend to be, more real than real--surreal even: unforgettable, etched in memory forever, unlike most ordinary dreams which fade quickly. Was it real presence? It felt like it, but whatever it was, it was real comfort.
Do your loved ones come to you in dreams?
Julie Jackson Robertson of Oshkosh answered emphatically, “Yes, I've had it happen on several occasions. One of these times I was sitting in my living room shortly after my grandfather passed. He lived in Tomah, WI. I was just meditating to myself after a hard day’s work. I don't know if I dozed off or what, but my grandfather came and started to talk to me. He told me there were videos he had taken with a video camera. I knew absolutely nothing about these videos. He told me to ask grandma where they were and to get them out and we could watch them at Christmas with everyone.
“Grandpa visited with me for a little while more during this time, with small talk. All I know is when I opened my eyes I could still feel a very strong presence of him by my fireplace. It seemed to be coming from above my mantle, but I couldn't see him anymore with my eyes open. I called out, “Grandpa?” I felt a light coolness, like a light wind. The conversation and his presence felt sooo real.”
Julie added, “I later called my grandma (I was hesitant about it because I didn't want her to think I was nuts or to emotionally upset her in anyway), but when I asked her about it she said yes, grandpa had indeed had a camera with a movie projector but she didn't know where it was. The next time I went there with my husband and kids she told us she thought they might be in her attic, she couldn't find them anywhere else. My husband climbed up in the attic and, sure enough, there they were. We watched them on grandpa’s old movie projector that Christmas. I could feel his presence amongst us!”
A friend from southwest Wisconsin wrote about a sister who had terminal cancer, who, she said, “… came to me in a dream a month before she passed. I dreamt that I got out of bed and went to the living room and saw her sitting on the couch. I asked her what she was doing here, as she lived in Ohio. She told me she came to let me know that it was okay, that she was going to die and didn't want me to be sad anymore, and also that she wanted me to let the rest of the family know that it was okay. It seemed so real at the time that I wasn't even sure it was a dream! Later that summer, at our family reunion, we were all missing my sister and wishing she could be there. When I was going to my car to get something, my phone rang, and it was a call coming from my deceased sister's phone. I answered it, but no one was there. I showed it to her daughter and she was shocked! She said she had her mother’s phone turned off four months earlier!”
Some of these kinds of dreams are both comforting and perplexing.
Jae Lindemann of Kenosha wrote, “My youngest son died of Covid complications in June 2021. I've been sad there has been no communication from him. But about one month ago, I had a very short dream as I was waking up in the morning. In it, he was looking fit, calm and healthy. He did not ask about his wife, children or me. He knew his wife was in a new relationship but didn't care. That was the part that puzzled me.”
And then there are dreams that are both reassuring and wondrous.
Mark Bromley of Whitewater tells that, “Some years ago, I had a dream in which I was walking along a river. My father, grandfather and father-in-law were walking and talking together on the opposite side. They spoke to me and I asked if I could join them. They said that my time would come but had not yet arrived. It was a warm and comforting dream.”
Do your loved ones come to you in dreams?
