Dreams and Visions by Annette Capps Dreams have played a significant part in my life since I was a small child. My sister and I used to laugh at the very bizarre dreams I would have occasionally. The vividness of my dreams was sometimes a source of entertainment. At some point in my teens I began to realize that some of these dreams imparted past and present facts that I had no knowledge of. It did not seem that strange to me to have those kinds of dreams because it was a somewhat regular occurrence to hear my Grandmother Capps tell of God speaking to her in dreams about many different situations. As I read my Bible, I discovered that both the Old and New Testament contains many incidents of divinely inspired dreams. The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream in I Kings chapter three (I Kings 3:5). In the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about his future and only Daniel could interpret it for him (Daniel 4:4-27). Joseph was able to interpret Pharaoh’s dream about the seven years of plenty and seven years of famine (Genesis 41:1-36). As a result of this warning and preparation, his family was saved. The dream he had as a teenager of his brothers bowing down to him came to pass when they appeared to ask for food (Genesis 42:1-6). In the New Testament, Jesus was protected by God giving Joseph a dream warning him to take Mary and Jesus and flee into Egypt (Matthew 2:13). Over the period of Jesus’ young life, Joseph received instructions through dreams regarding their lives. Pilate’s wife warned her husband about a dream she had about Jesus (Matthew 27:19). I keep a journal and when I have a dream that feels significant. I write it down in detail because many times I am prompted to go back and take a look at what I dreamed and find out that it holds important information that I could not interpret at the time. MY DREAM On November 14, 2003 I had a very disturbing dream in which there were large trucks with flashing lights at the front gate of our 40 acre farm. There were many other trucks and vehicles with lights lined up on the road to get onto our property. Out of my window, I could see people opening the gates and some were driving across our yard. I told my husband to get out there quick as I grabbed a protective jumpsuit and ran out the door. I had loaded our pets into plastic carriers into the rear doors of my SUV (which I did not own at that time) and was concerned because they had been in there for so long. As these large vehicles with lights drove across my yard, they ran over things in the yard, messed up our fences, created large ruts in the yard from their weight. People were all over our property, and I couldn’t keep up with where my husband was as I raced all over the property trying to stop this action. When I tried to call my husband on the cell phone, he couldn’t hear me because of the noise and distraction. I later found him working in the hay field assisting some of the people with equipment. We kept being separated on our own property for some reason. I was very upset. Bulldozers were tearing up the land, cutting roads into our property. In the dream, I was very distressed and I awoke feeling angry and frustrated. I shared this dream with a few friends and meditated on it’s meaning, but I had no real understanding. I asked the Holy Spirit for guidance in this matter. Reality On November 27, 2005, almost 2 years to the day of the dream, wildfires broke out in the state of Oklahoma. It was the first day of the fires that would consume over 500,000 acres in the state. On that particular day, we had unusually high winds with gusts up to 70 mph. I spent most of the afternoon securing loose objects and checking for damage from the wind. Around 4:30 p.m., my husband and I went outside to start feeding the animals on our farm when we saw thick black smoke to the southwest. With winds gusting 60-70 mph, the fire was racing directly toward us. I immediately called my mother and asked her and my dad to pray and then called 911. For two hours, we did what we could to secure the property, watering the yard with hoses and spraying the roofs of numerous outbuildings, putting the small animals in my SUV and moving them as far away as I could, preparing to cut fences to let the cattle and horses run free. The fire, which started from an electrical line touching the roof of a metal building, could not be controlled by the firefighters. Fueled by the high winds and tall grass, it jumped the road to the west and roared across our hay field with a 15-20 foot wall of fire a half mile wide. Fire trucks from several different counties gathered in our yard to protect our house and barns, while bulldozers cut a firebreak to stop the progression of the fire. There were emergency vehicles with lights flashing, law enforcement officers, volunteers with shovels and wet blankets, 4-wheelers, assorted trucks, and the local news station was in our front yard with their satellite dish erected. In the next 7-8 hours, we fought fires that eventually burned all of our property except the 5 acres where our house and barns were located and a few acres were left unburned on 200 acres that we lease. The fire was stopped on our north, west and east property lines and burned no further. As you can see from the aerial photo, the fire burned within 30 feet of our house and within 20 feet of our barn. At 4:00 a.m. the next morning, feeling frustrated and angry from the effects of too much adrenaline yet overwhelmingly grateful, I looked out the window. The fire trucks were still parked on the road near our house with their lights flashing, looking for any flare ups. At that instant I realized that this was what I had dreamed about in exact detail two years earlier. I could ask a lot of questions about all the whys of the dream and situation that arose, like why didn’t I see the fire in the dream? Could it be that I would have entered into fear if I had seen the terrifying scene that would take place? I don’t have all of the answers to the whys, but not having answers is a small thing compared to the fact that God and His Angels protected us. Our house and all our buildings are intact. All of our animals large and small are safe. All of our farm equipment is safe. We lost nothing but 3 bales of hay. Being Led By the Spirit So what good was the dream? I believe things were imparted to my spirit that were important enough for me to make right decisions even not knowing everything that would happen. For one thing, I kept feeling that it was important for the field near the house to be cut. Two weeks before the fire, my husband cut a swath around the field that left a 30 foot fire break near the house. Without remembering the dream, I prayed for guidance in the purchase of my next automobile. When I drove the SUV, I knew it was mine. The animals were left in it for many hours in a different location away from the extreme smoke. I was able to “race” around the property with tools to cut fences, buckets, and transport volunteer firefighters because we felt “led” 2 weeks earlier to purchase a 4 wheel drive all terrain vehicle with a dump bed and seating for three people. Perhaps the dream was a dress rehearsal? Incidentally, during the entire incident, the smoke was so thick and the fire so intense that I could not locate my husband. When I would call, he couldn’t hear because of the noise of all the trucks. I finally located him in the hay field assisting the firefighters with hoses, etc. And…….I still have ruts in the yard and fences that need mending from the damage of the trucks and people that night. All details that were in my dream. Obviously, we are very thankful for divine intervention and the ministry of angels that night, but also are very grateful for the firefighters and volunteers who fought so hard to save our property. I have personally thanked as many of the firefighters as possible, and was shocked to find out that very few people ever show up to express their gratitude. This has all shed new light on the importance of paying attention to every aspect of life that might contain guidance, including dreams. I am mindful of the many different ways God speaks to us, through the Word, our inward witness, dreams, visions, that certain reaction our body has when something is “right” or “wrong”. I have an agreement with the Holy Spirit that I am listening to my inward witness and if by chance I don’t “get it”, I am open to God sending an angel, a dream or a vision to get through to me. I challenge you to ask yourself, “Am I paying attention?” Back to Newsletter Index.
