The author of this story was blessed to travel back in time and experience a part of her mother’s childhood. Wow! Other than the obvious, “that is way cool,” three things really jump out to me. Dreams are real experiences in the greater worlds of God, love transcends time, and God reads the prayers of our heart. It is such a comfort to know this.

Excerpt from “Visit Loved Ones in Heaven”

 

I was taking a trip to Long Island. It was going to be a quick trip, just up and back within twenty-four hours. My mom passed away sixteen years ago and had grown up on Long Island, New York. I was only going to be there a few hours but it was really important for me to take the time to see some of her childhood. I really wanted to see the house she grew up in and also a bakery that she frequented as a child.

Two nights before I drove to New York I had a very real dream. It was one of those dreams where when you awake, for a moment you are not sure if it was a dream or if you were really there. I was really there. In the dream, I was with my siblings in New York trying to find the house my mom grew up in. As we were walking through the streets of New York, we passed through a wedding. The streets were filled with people in attendance. They were all singing HU, a love song to God, as part of the wedding ceremony. We enjoyed the wedding for a few moments and then continued on to find the bakery. As I walked in, I realized it was no longer there, it had been turned into a Starbucks. My mom came through the front door, she must have been six or seven years old. As she entered the scene slowed and began to transform back to how it would have appeared many years ago.

In this dream/experience, I was allowed to experience this part of her life with her. I was taken back in time and actually lived this moment with her. It was so very real, I could feel the shelves and cabinets, could smell the bakery, and could see and hear her childhood laughter and joy. When I woke up the next morning I was very emotional and still felt as though I was there. I could still feel the emotions that I felt as I lived this moment with her and I could still smell the bakery. It was such a real and wonderful experience.

When I arrived in New York I found the house she grew up in and then went to find the bakery. I was eating lunch in a restaurant on the street where the bakery was located. I asked the waitress where the bakery was so I could see it. She said it was no longer there. As I sat there and began to feel sad that I would not be able to see it, a girl walked in off the street with a Starbucks cup (there was a Starbucks across the street). I immediately was taken back to my experience in the bakery with my mother, right back to how I felt being there with her. What a wonderful gift the Divine had given me, I was allowed to actually live that moment with my mother when she was a young girl rather than just walking through a bakery fifty years later. This experience was such a gift to me and I am so grateful to God for this time with my mother. God knew it was in my heart to see a part of my mother’s childhood. The Divine not only helped me see part of her childhood, it allowed me to experience it with her.

Written by Emily Allred

Excerpt from “Visit Loved Ones in Heaven”