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Meet Carl

Meet Carl

Carl grew up in a suburb of Detroit, in a typical American household. His parents had a good marriage and provided a stable homelife. His childhood was idyllic in many ways; the youngest of five, school was a short walk from the house, good friends were as near as a bike ride, and dinner was on the table every evening at the same time. Life was good. 

Carl’s dad was a hardworking man, kind but firm. He loved the woods, and he loved to fish. He died at the age of 69 when Carl was only 29 years old.

Carl’s dad had grown up in the hills of Kentucky with 6 siblings. His own dad (Carl’s grandfather) had been a Pentecostal preacher; however, he did not live the scripture’s message at home. Carl’s dad, and all 6 of his siblings, left home as soon as they were able; and Carl’s grandmother divorced her husband at a time when that was not acceptable in society – but he was an abusive man. Carl’s dad, and all 6 siblings, wanted nothing to do with God – their own dad, the Pentecostal preacher, had represented a god to them that none of them wanted to know.

Growing up, Carl and his family never went to church. There were a handful of times that they attended a Catholic service for a funeral or a wedding, but otherwise Carl had never heard a message about Jesus, and certainly had never heard a salvation message.

But perhaps Carl’s grandmother had been praying.

Carl’s dad was a lifelong chain smoker and ended up being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and only a short time to live. He tended to be a worrier, and became quite unsettled after the cancer diagnosis, often having trouble sleeping. He was particularly worried about the prospect of being unable to breathe; he was quite concerned about dying a difficult and painful death. Carl remembers the anxiety he wore on his face as death approached.

But one day, Carl had gone to see him and discovered that his countenance had completely changed. He was suddenly at peace. The change was obvious, so Carl questioned his dad. Carl’s dad proceeded to tell him the story – a story he would not believe for some time. 

It happened one night, while he lay awake in bed. It had been another night in which he could not sleep – another night of anxiety about his impending death. Suddenly there was a bright light coming down the hallway, as though headlights from a car were approaching; but it was not headlights he was seeing. The light came into his bedroom – along with the being in whom that heavenly light was emanating. It was an angel. 

The angel ducked under the doorframe in order to enter the bedroom as he was quite tall. He was wearing white, and had long, light colored hair. The angel irradiated light. He spoke to the worried man to whom he had been sent. The angel told Carl’s dad that it wouldn’t be long before he would depart, and that he would feel no pain when he died. The angel took his hand, telling him that he would show him the place where he would be living. Suddenly, they were on top of a hill looking down into a magnificent woods with a stream. The angel explained that he would soon be fishing there, a pastime he loved. They were at an elevated height, looking out over the tree tops. There was a hill off in the distance, and they stepped off of the hill on which they were standing and were suddenly on top of the hill they had seen in the distance – a transportation of sorts not understood in our earthly realm but often reported by individuals who have visited heaven and returned.

The angel’s visitation did what it was intended to do – ease the mind of an anguished man who had only accepted Jesus a few months prior, and who did not have much time left on this earth.

Carl did not believe the story – until a few years later. 

Carl had often wondered if there was a God. He wondered whose God was the God. He sometimes thought that there must be a God looking out for him as his life had been saved, seemingly miraculously, on a number of occasions. And in general, his life was pretty good; he loved the area in which he lived, and he had recently started a business there. Things just always seemed to go his way.

As he wondered about the prospect of a God, pondering the possibilities in silence, what he did not know was that the one true God was listening. And God, Himself, was about to answer Carl’s questions. 

At the age of 33, as he was driving down a road he had driven down hundreds of times before, a day that had begun like every other day – suddenly God spoke to him. Out-of-the-blue, he heard: “Come to Me.” 

Carl knew exactly who had just spoken to him. It was the God he had wondered about for years. And in that split second, he responded to God: “I’ll think about it.” 

Well, he thought about it only a few miles and then wisely answered back: “Ok, I’m yours.” 

It was no longer just a day like any other day – Carl was so excited! He did not delay in finding the nearest Christian he knew – his neighbor Ralph. Carl pounded on Ralph’s door to tell him the good news and to find out about Ralph’s church – Carl was suddenly eager to go to church and to discover the God who had just spoken to him. Straight away, he drove to Walmart to buy a Bible. And after a few weeks of attending Ralph’s church, he heard the first salvation message of his life – perhaps unnecessarily, as God, Himself, had presented that life-changing question to Carl that day in the car.

Carl has never looked back – his life was permanently changed that day – that day that had started out like any other day. 

Behind the Pages

Inspiration in Every Word Discovering the Book's Origins

There is only one inspiration for THE DREAM:
“For God may speak in one way or in another. Yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, Then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instructions.”
(Job 33:14-16)

The day that the prophetic dream came, my “instructions” were sealed. I had to choose: HIS way, or my own.

And HE alone, wanted this story told. I was happy to keep it all to myself. For six years, as I sought HIM, and as I wrote, I questioned the necessity of putting it in print for all to read.

But then one day, as I thought on one of the miraculous events that I have recorded in the book, I heard HIS kind voice say:

“Will you keep this to yourself?”

And once again, my “instructions” were sealed.