ALL ABOARD!

My friends invited me to a conference in March of 2019, at their church Revival River. I had visited with my son and something miraculous happened. I hadn’t considered making this place my home church. It was over an hour away. Why would I drive so far? There are so many places I can go, why Revival River?

I agreed to go to the conference because I knew I had witnessed something different, something life changing and I wanted more of it. It was something I see so rarely in churches these days. The church wasn’t centered around music, inner politics and popularity or children’s programs. It was something raw, uncompromising. All the hubbub was stripped away, including religious systems. It was all about God and these people prayed with fervency. It was so different in fact, that I prayed and asked God if that’s where he wanted me. I felt drawn to it, but I wanted to be sure.

My friends called me the night before conference. After we spoke my friend prayed with me on the phone and prayed I’d have visions and dreams from God.

Within minutes of laying down that night, I was in a state between awake and asleep and a vision came to me in two parts.

The first part, I was standing in a patch of grass and when I looked up I saw Jesus standing in front of me. He had his back slightly towards me and was motioning with his hand to follow Him; so I started to walk and follow Him. He kept motioning with his hand the entire time, assuring me it was okay. The deeper I followed him, the lusher the landscape became. I started to see the most gorgeous purple flowers. They were so thick and knee deep I was watching my step. It was a beautiful sunny day; the perfect temperature and the landscape was glowing with color. In the distance I saw a big oak tree and my Dad was standing under it. He smiled the biggest smile and opened his arms for me to run to him like I was a small child. I looked at Jesus to see if he was going to instruct me which way to go. He was gone so I ran to my Dad as fast as I could. He scooped me up into his arms and hugged me tight, picking me up off my feet.

The second part looked like it was set in the 1950’s. It was sepia toned (a warm version of black and white). There was a husband and wife and a little boy, who looked very young, maybe four or five. The mom and boy were getting up on the stairs of the train and the father was staying on the platform. The little boy was full of smiles waving at his Dad. The Dad had a huge smile waiving at his son. The mom had a pleasant smile but looked like she was on a mission to get to her destination.

That was all I saw of that part. I remember thinking, how it looked as though they all loved each other so much. I wondered why the Dad wasn’t going onto the train, but I had this sense he wouldn’t be far behind, maybe he would catch one in a few days.

Then the vision ended.

I messaged my Dad a few days later and asked him if his mom had ever taken him on a train trip where they had to leave Grandpa for a while. He said no. I assumed this little boy was my Dad because my Dad was in the first part of the vision and because it looked like it was from the 1950’s. I wasn’t understanding. I just prayed about it and let it be. I hoped God would give me understanding eventually.

As I was driving home from the conference, in the dark; there was a train station, elevated above and alongside of me. A train pulled up with lights glowing in the night. The train and my car were traveling side by side as it pulled into the station. I took it as a sign that I was in the right place and exactly where God wanted me to be. I thought the train portion was simply a confirmation.

Months passed, nine months exactly from the night I had that vision. I was walking up to my parents house to pick up my son. I was in the process of painting our living room and needed some help watching him. I walked on the sidewalk along all the outdoor Christmas decorations and it stuck out to me there was a train. I looked at it and God reminded me of the vision and I smiled.

As I approached the door, my Dad had this strange look on his face, I hadn’t seen before. He looked worried and like something was wrong. He ushered me in the house and said come in quick. I don’t recall my Dad acting in a way that he seems panicked. This man was a trained hostage negotiator; calm, collected. I asked if I could take my shoes off or if I needed to hurry that badly. He could hardly answer so I took them off anyway. When we got through the entryway and into the house, I asked him what was wrong? From the way he was acting, I was anticipating someone was trying to break in. He replied, “I just got Jameson to stop crying. He wants to ride in the train.” I laughed and my shoulders dropped about five inches. I told my Dad, Jameson can get over it. My Dad proceeded to tell me how badly Jameson wanted to ride the train but he couldn’t because it was made of wiring. It would collapse. When things settled down, I left and took a picture of my Dad and Jameson by the train. I wanted a picture for them to remember.

The next day I was finishing my painting and thinking how silly the previous nights incident was. I was laughing that Jameson has such a hold on my Dad. I just kept painting and the vision on the train came to my mind again. “It was you and Jameson,” I felt it in my heart clear as day. God began to unravel for me what the vision meant. It was spiritual. He wants me to take my son to this church and to a purpose God has for him.

Then I realized in the vision, his Dad didn’t get on the train. God was telling me I would need to start the journey out on my own but his Dad could meet us there, when he’s ready. In the vision we all love each other and we will ultimately make it to our destination together.

I also know, now that the man I ran to under the tree wasn’t my Dad in real life, it was a representation of the Father. It took a while for me to completely understand all that I had seen but I was happy and thankful, once I finally did.

Dan and I talked and decided we would take Jameson to ride a train. We went to Rappahannock Railroad Museum. I wasn’t expecting much. It’s a small train museum but I knew Jameson would enjoy himself. That’s all I wanted. As it turned out, Dan and I had such a great time. It was better than we expected and fun for us too. We plan to go again.

As we rode the train last Saturday, Jameson loved on his Daddy intently. He gave him so many hugs and kisses. The train conductor was sitting right next to me. We made a few stops and he would yell, “ALL ABOARD!” I thought to myself, “Yes! Yes we are ALL aboard!”