Several years ago, I dreamed I saw Heaven. I woke up gasping for air and sobbing. It felt so real. I wrote it down so I would never forget the dream but I can still see it like it was just yesterday. Jan 7, 2012...
Before you think I am totally crazy, I must admit I have had several distinct dreams in my life but different than this one. I have always wondered if I am the only crazy one. Do others have dreams that you are left piecing together dream fragments throughout the day as the flashbacks emerge? However, my dream about Heaven was different and quite distinct. Is it possible that some dreams really do take us somewhere a bit beyond our present reality? Or should we simply cut out the pizza and ice cream before bed?
I sure hope this one was real. The longing I felt was like nothing I can describe. The golden hue was indescribable and was the exact same golden hue I experienced ten years prior standing beside my great-grandma after she died as our family prayed together at her bedside.
God moments or golden moments as I call them are everywhere. For me, they are my hope, my confirmation, and presence I feel knowing that God is real. As a nurse, as a caregiver, and as a mom, my heart is to guide my girls and others to find that same sensitivity and to actually experience hope firsthand. If God can open my deep, fragile places that I never even knew existed and write on the tablets of my heart and pour into me daily, the least I can do is to begin to share the words only He can transcribe with you.
Whether it's a dream or present-day reality, we all need a bit of Heaven's Hope today. We need to see life's golden moments and stay sensitive to a great calling.
I have been writing for over 10-15 years and I am finally opening a few of the secret places of my heart and sharing with you. I am digging deep through stacks of journals and documents on old computers that I have written.
These words have been written in my real life. Really tough times, really great times... The emotions are often raw. However, these are the real-life moments others need to hear. It does take time for your wounds to heal before you can unwrap the bandages. So I am slowly unwrapping, piece by piece, and sharing with you.
Most people are searching too far for the means by which they can succeed or find fulfillment. The connection lies deep within your heart and it is a longing that only He can fill. However, once you experience it you will never feel complete without it.
Heaven's hope is as real to me as my very existence. I hope these ten hope reminders will help you to recognize life's golden moments and have you dreaming of Heaven.
1. Hope remains even when life doesn't seem fair.
To find God in the unfair moments of life requires courage to embrace the reality of the situation while remembering the hope we have in Christ.
We live in a divided America. Uncertainty and chaos are overtaking families and reality. Pray for God to help you censor the news feed. If Heaven is our hope and Jesus is King, there is no political party, no denomination, no race that can separate us from real abiding hope.
Use the chaos to usher in the calm and pray for peace in the panic. You must learn to turn on hope uncensored and wait for the promises of God.
"Hope is one of the theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next." C.S. Lewis
Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
2. Hope is available to all and is contagious. Share away!
No mask needed here. Remember in the conflict that the facade you put up to amplify your opinion may very well be the reason someone else does not catch real hope. Hope is not manipulative, it is not misleading, and it does not divide.
Lamentations 3:24: "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him."
When my husband was in the hospital battling cancer last year, we placed picture frames on his bedside table and decorated his window. It was a reminder to keep on pushing. We didn't bring in news clippings, we didn't discuss conspiracy theories, we didn't question doctors... instead, we set up reminders and demonstrated our love, trust and hope in a known God.
What reminders of hope are you setting up for others? Take off the mask and turn off the television, real hope comes from the one whose voice you value. It does not need speakers or chaos to reveal its presence and it does not hold an earthly position. Hope comes from above and provides you with security and peace in uncertainty.
"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." Corrie Ten Boom
Job 11:18: “And you will feel secure because there is hope; you will look around and take rest in security."
3. Hope brings clarity and confidence.
I hope my dream of Heaven was real, but my greatest hope is that my life portrays the very real hope of Heaven to others. I hope that people read my words and want that kind of hope. The real hope that held my hand on many lonely nights. The hope that provided the pillow for my heavy mind and the hope that wrestled me out of bed on really tough days. The hope that without question provided clarity and confidence in times when even my next second was unknown.
Hebrews 10:23: "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful."
Your life could be the pillow your friend needs. Quiet the confusion, embrace the pain, and keep your eyes fixed on what God has promised. Those without true abiding hope are watching your response.
Psalms 119:81: My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word.
4. Hope is knowing what cannot be taken away.
No position in life is permanent and no job guaranteed, cling to what the world cannot take away.
Romans 8:25: "But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."
Eternal hope provides the tissues for your tears, the stamina to meet another day, and the sensitivity to hear His voice. When addictions, disease, pain, depression are screaming in the ears of our young people and friends, we need the quiet still voice of hope to reach the depths of our hearts and rescue us from within.
"The hope that God has provided for you is not merely a wish. Neither is it dependent on other people, possessions, or circumstances for its validity. Instead, biblical hope is an application of your faith that supplies a confident expectation in God's fulfillment of His promises. Coupled with faith and love, hope is part of the abiding characteristics in a believer's life." John C. Broger
Philippians 4:19: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
5. Hope allows you to be vulnerable.
You help others when you tell your story. Hope is a feeling of anticipation. It is a quickening that can be felt and it pours out radiance to others. You have to tell your story. You lose strength when you stop telling your story. The Lord is not selfish with his words to us. Share his hope with others. Today.
Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Don't let life's challenges or unfair moments take you away from your calling or squander your hope. Anticipate struggles, count on disappointments, and keep believing in the hope that Heaven awaits.
Romans 5:5: "Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which was given to us."
6. Hope allows you to learn something new every day.
Need a dose of hope? Just walk through a cancer hospital, day after day... You will forget the political campaign, you will forget the piling bills at home, and you will start to learn what real-life hope vs hopelessness looks like magnified.
As I walked those halls daily for weeks and months, I learned quietness by feeling people's heavy. I learned stillness when there wasn't always an answer. I learned tears and a gentle touch cleanses the soul. I learned to stop each and every day and just be. I learned that hope surrounds me and can be felt when I just be still.
Zephaniah 3:17: "The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
It's hard when a greater assignment comes knocking on your door. Muster the courage to greet it with resilience and then let hope do the walking.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18: "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."
7. Find a hope mentor.
When dialing into God becomes a bit tougher than it looks, make sure you have a hope mentor on speed dial. I have been blessed with a large handful of hope dealers in my inner circle and it has carried hope to my doorstop on days when I couldn't muster the strength.
But my favorite hope mentor is my Dad.
My Dad has the golden ability to tap into places with God that most cannot. His meek spirit is a reflection of the greater that dwells within him - his steadfast hope. His daily example to read the entire Bible every year has been my greatest resource of hope. It is a discipline that I value and eagerly do daily.
There really is something to reading the Word. The words that are now embedded in places that no one can steal and without fail the words that surface in the midst of distress.
When I think about my Dad, I imagine that golden hue that I saw in my dream of Heaven. I envision that my Dad is inwardly saturated because of his hope and trust in God. Just like my Dad, hope is gentle, meek, kind, and surrounds us at just the right moment.
Psalm 119:114: "You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word."
Psalm 147:11: "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy."
8. Hope is like a dream.
As the saying goes, a dream without action is just a delusion. Hope takes work. It is a daily dose that can not be missed.
Proverbs 17:22: "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
Hope is your heart-healthy diet. Keep it on auto-refill. You don't have to be perfect, just present. Put hope on your to-do list and make sure it's checked and double-checked before you step out the front door! What God has in store for you is far greater than your wildest dreams.
9. Hope does the little stuff.
Hope is not extravagant. It doesn't need riches. In fact, hope lies within humility and meekness. It is easy to aim for success in ways that do not really matter. But like the song by Tobymac says, "I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul."
Hope is your bright side, the light at the end of the tunnel, the anticipation of what is to come. Hope met me in hospital cafeterias by a simple smile, it embraced me with hugs from friends, hope came through my inbox, and hope said you've got mail.
Too often we think our words and our time are not enough. But ask anyone sinking in life's muck and mire and they will tell you hope is the rope that keeps you hanging on!
Ephesians 1:18: "Pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people"
10. Hope of Heaven.
Days are hard but stay the course. Let hope do the walking, let faith do the jumping, and let love help spread real abiding hope to others.
I dreamed of Heaven once,
it was a splendor I can not seem to not remember.
There in His presence, I stood, with a longing so deep
I knew I would never fully be able to speak.
A golden saturation enveloped me
as I tried to quiet the sobs that were welling up in me.
There were no words that could be spoken
as I stood in awe of the one who seemed to fix my broken.
Dig deep within your heart,
and open up the fragile parts.
Today you can find rest and tomorrow you can become your best,
Your eternity is sealed and your hurts already healed.
I will continue to dream of the day when in my Saviours presence I will stay.
Titus 2:13: “Looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ."
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May each of us who swore by oaths in our professions recite them daily and vow to uphold them. May each of us help guide others to find and fulfill their inner calling.
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