Death is an inevitable part of the human experience, and the profound suffering caused by the death of even a stranger can catch you off-guard and leave a deep-rooted mark on your soul.

In 2020, my faith was deeply shaken following the death of my brother from cancer but later was restored through meaningful tokens I believed my brother sent me.

Two years later, another traumatic event left me questioning how God could allow such pain.

I witnessed a horrific traffic accident, a scene that seared itself into my memory. One of the images that haunted me was the paramedics reaching under the blown airbags hanging like limp, white curtains. They reached into the shattered front and back seats, moving from one side to the other. Watching this, I felt frozen in place and prayed with every fiber of my being that the people inside the wreckage would survive.

When I got home, I learned a young mother and her child died.

For two weeks, grief consumed me. I couldn’t stop thinking about these strangers who lost their lives before my eyes. Sleep eluded me. My days were spent obsessively recounting what happened, trying to make sense of it.

By the second Friday following the accident, I was unraveling. Desperate, I prayed God would grant me peace.

That night, I found myself in a nightmare. In the dream, I lay both mute and paralyzed. My left side hugged the screened wall of a pop-up camper. I could hear footsteps pounding on the gravel outside. Fear gripped me. A man stopped just beyond the screen. He reached in, grabbing my left arm. I was convinced he was going to kill me.

I turned my head and watched my husband leave the camper. The screen door slammed shut behind him. Silence followed. I turned my head back and the man outside reached for my arm again.

With no means to defend myself, I turned my head away, not wanting to watch what was going to happen next.

I glanced toward the center of the camper and saw my daughter, age 5 or so, rise from the couch bed. Without hesitation, she left through the camper door. She didn’t look back.

The man outside continued to grab my arm, but, oddly, I was no longer afraid. Instead, I felt a profound calm wash over me. I turned my head back toward the door and woke with a start.

Shaking and drenched in cold sweat, I stumbled outside, desperate to find some fresh air. “Why, God?” I asked. “I don’t need fear.” Fighting back tears, I pleaded, “I need peace!”

Sitting alone, I Googled the meaning behind nightmares. I was surprised to find an article suggesting that sometimes nightmares are designed to help us. The reading said to look for a possible connection between something in your life and the characters or circumstances in the nightmare. Then, like a thunderstrike, I understood His message.

I was the young mom in the little black car. The man outside the camper was the paramedic. The man inside the camper wasn’t my husband; he was the late woman’s brother, who had died tragically a year earlier when an impaired driver struck his car. It wasn’t my daughter in the camper, either; it was the child who passed away.

God showed me that the brother’s spirit came to guide the child to her heavenly home. The child, in her innocence, rose quickly, and with her heart pure and full of wonder, followed her uncle into the arms of Jesus.

The young mom was immobilized by grief and fear, tethered to a world that would be unbearable without her loved ones in it. She chose to follow the light, placing her trust in God’s loving embrace and the promise of a joyful reunion in heaven.

Though it felt impossible at first, the dream’s value became obvious and resonated deeply. I felt overwhelming gratitude for the reminder that God was with us on that terrible day. Though my heart ached for the family, His presence brought peace, assuring me we would be OK.

The Bible’s book of Job reminds us that God speaks to us in many ways, including, often, through dreams and visions in the stillness of the night. It is in moments of reflection and meditation, however, that our hearts open for understanding.

God’s love is an endless source of care, compassion, and mercy, reaching beyond the limits of human understanding. In times of deep suffering, prayer can be a gentle refuge, offering comfort. When we allow ourselves to embrace the stillness within, sometimes in dreams, we may discover whispers of divine guidance and find the peace we seek.