We never know, when the Lord weaves someone into our lives, how much He will use their life to impact ours. Such is the case with a special man my husband and I met 33 years ago at Church on the Rock in Rockwall.
John was in our care group and so we got to know him well. Soon after we met, he and his wife were being called to another city, and just as quickly as they had come into our lives, they were gone. We had one last, lingering meal together and then they went their way and we went ours.
Our friendship became a faded memory…
Dream Interpretation
A few years ago, I heard John had moved back to Texas. Around the same time, my new friend Matthew asked if he could host a Dream Interpretation Seminar at U ARISE. Although it sounded like fun, I had no concept of dream interpretation as a ministry.
That night before I slept, I spent time in prayer, asking the Lord to give me a dream. The next morning, I awoke suddenly. I had dreamed a very vivid 3-part dream. I wrote it down in great detail. I was certain the dream had meant something.
When my dream was interpreted, there were so many parts of the dream he could not have known if the Holy Spirit had not revealed it to him. That day changed my life. The Lord had given me a very distinct, directional message in a dream. Since then I have had several detailed dreams from the Lord. He has used each one to speak into my life.
Chance Encounters
Back to John. On April 3rd, I saw him once again for the last time.
When a friend invited me be in the live audience of one of his television tapings for Stream Ministries, I jumped at the chance. That night, he and I got to chat during intermission and he shared with the others how much it meant to him that we had befriended him when we did. We had no idea our lives had touched his in such a meaningful way.
That was the last time I saw John.
Last week John Paul Jackson went to be with Jesus and came into his eternal reward. His life and work impacted many. His manuals and materials on dreams are excellent and will remain as a lasting testimony to his legacy. Those who knew him will never be the same. Like Joseph, he was a master dream interpreter.
Inspired by John Paul, my friend Matthew is now interpreting students’ dreams at SMU. Because everyone dreams: dream interpretation is a powerful witnessing tool.Done properly, dream interpretation is an unusual way to reach students with a powerful word from the Lord.
It has definitely deepened my understanding of God’s will for my life and made me more sensitive to His voice. Ask him for a dream. He will give you one. Then ask him for the interpretation!
As a busy ad agency owner and advertising professional, Vicki Garza heard the Lord call her to volunteer to serve the unborn and their parents in late 2008. She joined the Board of the Downtown Pregnancy Center in January 2009 and became the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee to start the Uptown Women’s Center, where graduate students and young professionals could come for answers concerning their physical, emotional and spiritual needs: uptownwomenscenter.com
In 2012, she co-founded U ARISE with her 23-year old niece, Kate. U ARISE is an educational non-profit created to promote spiritual health and wellness on high school and college campuses. In Fall 2013, U ARISE hosted ARISE AND PRAY, a 40-Day Prayer Initiative calling the nation to pray for the health and wellness of college students across the country: ariseandpray.org
Vicki is an avid reader and enjoys writing, presenting and public speaking. In her spare time, she looks forward to special moments with the Lord in Bible study and prayer and enjoys helping others. She has five children and 12 grandchildren and has been happily married to Paco, her high school sweetheart, for 36 years.