When I came to know the Lord, it was through a direct revelation from God—while I was sleeping! At that time in my life, I had been reading the book The Omen (I was about 17). Prior to this, I dabbled in reading tarot cards, palm readings, and horoscopes, so my tastes in books leaned toward the supernatural. The Omen was about the Antichrist and had several verses from the Book of Revelation in it. When I started reading these verses, I was surprised because I had no idea Jesus was coming back again. My curiosity got the best of me, and after finding an old Bible we had in the house, I read the entire book of Revelation and then went to bed. Word to the wise: If you have never picked up a Bible before, don’t start in Revelation!
That night, I had a dream that I was standing alone in the dark on a street corner underneath a lamplight. A voice shouted out to me, “Laura, where are you going?” and I shouted back, “I’m going to hell!” and then I was there. I saw the river Hades in hell. I felt the flames and the heat, and I woke up screaming, sweating, and terrified to my core because I knew in my heart that if I died, hell was exactly where I would be going. But God had a plan. You see, months before, at school (when Christian organizations were still allowed to go into schools), I had been given a copy of The Four Spiritual Laws, which I had glanced at and then threw in my dresser drawer, and it was the first thing that popped into my head upon awakening.
I searched frantically for that booklet because I knew it would tell me how to get myself right with God. I read it and did everything it said. I confessed my sins, repented, and invited Christ into my life to be my Saviour. I then read the entire Gospel of John (a much better place to start reading the Bible). It was about five in the morning when I finally returned to bed, and then I had another dream. This time, I was in a dark room with my friends. They were all dressed in black, and I was dressed in white. A door to heaven opened, and I stepped through. I sat on this huge rock (yes, there are rocks in heaven!) and Jesus came and sat beside me. He took my hands and said, “Now, everything is going to be all right.”
By that, the Lord meant that my eternal salvation was secured. Somehow, I knew that it didn’t mean my life would be without trials or heartache. It just meant I was now a child of God. My life changed because of that dream, and the Lord took me down paths I never thought I would travel. Some pleasant surprises and others not so pleasant—like when I became disabled, was diagnosed with an incurable disease, and lost my singing voice.
Now I realize a dream is a strange way to come to the Lord, but if you knew me when I was younger, it really was the only way. My grade 8 teacher said on my report card, “Laura is here merely to socialize.” She was right. I was a chatterbox, and I couldn’t seem to help myself. So it makes sense to me that the Lord revealed himself to me while I was sleeping. Otherwise, I never would have heard Him!
