Since our oldest son, Christopher, passed away last year, I’ve dreamed of him often, as I’m sure you can imagine. Most of the dreams are random events of Chris with our family as if everything was back to normal or fleeting images of him passing through the haze of my subconscious. Nothing too deep, detailed, or extraordinary—with one exception.  

Lori and I were in Connecticut a few weeks after the accident helping our daughter, Shannon, move into her new apartment. While we were there, I had a powerful and vivid dream in which I saw Chris in an enormous, multi-story room with rows of fully stocked bookshelves running the length of the walls, very much like an elaborate library. The room was radiant with ornate gold trimmings all around, and I had the sense that the room was considerably larger than I could even see.  Chris stood in front of me, holding a thick book. He didn’t say anything but turned toward me and smiled. It ended nearly as quickly as it started.

I woke up and was overwhelmed with an incredible sense of peace and comfort. Chris loved reading, and if there are libraries in Heaven, I have no doubt that he is hanging out in them.  In Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven, Randy points out that in Heaven, we will continue to learn because, as finite beings, we can never know everything about an infinite God and that many of the things that gave us joy on Earth will be present in Heaven in a perfected state. So, seeing Chris with a book in Heaven made complete sense and has served to strengthen and encourage me during some pretty dark days since then.

I can’t say for sure if the dream was a vision from God or the product of my grieving mind, but either way, I’m thankful for the poignant reminder that Chris is not lost but has reached the ultimate destination—in the loving presence of his Savior in Heaven, a place of indescribable beauty, joy, and peace.