by Cathi Close-Arlington, VA
And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, you old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions. Even upon your menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit. Joel, 2:28
In how many countless ways has God reached out to touch many of us directly through prayer, spiritual dreams, visions and revelations? While each experience by itself is meaningful, it is only through combining our individual testimonies that we are able to comprehend more fully the extent to which God is working to create not only oneness of heart but oneness of purpose in this world.
Many people share the awareness that we are now living in the Last Days. Through the understanding of the Divine Principle, we have been given a unique understanding concerning the role of a central providential history which has been ongoing throughout the ages.
It is to these spiritual testimonies which are relevant to the restoration process centering on Jesus and True Parents that this column will be devoted.
Often we may not feel that our particular experiences are significant or outstanding but please remember that God works in so many ways, large and small, simple and profound. We would like to eventually compile these to form a book of testimonies of the Completed Testament Age.
While these are not testimonies about how or why a person joined the Unification church, they could have easily taken place prior to or during a first encounter with the teachings of the Divine Principle, while on MFT, or participating in the Blessing. They are often profound and life-changing, other times deeply intimate. Each one is precious. Please take the time to write out send us your unique story.
Only first names will be used, or they can be printed anonymously. (Please include an approx. date and country of origin.) Many of these experiences are intensely personal and it’s best if the focus is kept on the message itself but please don’t hesitate to share any particular meaning it had to your individual life of faith.
Many of these testimonies have not been written yet but they are in our hearts. They need to be shared. They were given to us by grace. Let’s express them with joy! After publication in the Unification News, I hope we can eventually publish these testimonies in one book. Send your testimonies to: cathi.mike@juno.com.
Here are the first three in the collection.
Personal testimonies
On January 17, 1975, I received a letter informing me that I am a candidate to go to Korea to receive our Father's blessing on February 8th. That night before sleeping I see a vision of Mother. I see her smile, and all the negative elements of the creation respond in delight. She smiles and the hummingbirds dance and the stars waltz and the moon radiates. I have never before dreamed of Mother, and since she doesn't have much of an active role externally in America I have not understood her spiritual position in the cosmos. But to me she is the source of one polarity of radiance, beauty, harmony, rhythm and color. How wonderful she is! What a wonderful vision of how we as women can complement our mate and reflect aspects of God's polarity.
After awakening the next morning I see two more visions. They are in answer to questions about how we are joined to our True Parents. The first vignette is about engrafting. I see that when we accept the Divine Principle and the True Parents, we are like a limb yanked off a satanic tree. The break is ragged, and scars form over the wounds in the course of time. Now, to prepare for the Blessing, I or Father must cut apart the old scars and whittle the broken edges down to a perfect wedge to fit into the notch Father is preparing in the Tree of Life. I will receive the sap or blood of the True Parents and can give to them the true joy of nutrients from photosynthesis and the fruit.
The second vision has a slightly different viewpoint. I see our True Parents as a huge rock and our family as building on the rock. In the beginning only a small part of the rock could be seen above the dirt, and first 3 couples, then 36, then 72, 124, 430, and 777 couples or families could be built on it.
Now we have been clearing away more and more dirt, with Father's aid, and there is space for 1,800 couples. But again, we must plane our surfaces to fit precisely the flat surface of the rock and join tightly with the other families. The process of planing flat is crucial to the preparation. Without our Father's forgiveness we can never make it. But I must deeply pray to recognize my sin, sincerely repent of it, and work to root it out. The our Parents' Blessing will have real meaning.
Joy, 1975, USA
When I first heard DP I had very little foundation to understand the biblical references. A lot of it went right over my head but even so, I knew it was profound. However, The Principle Of Creation had me floored. The beautiful and exquisite ideal of a family of love, between God, husband, wife and children expanding to become a world of love for all … sometimes I think we've heard it so much by now that we can't remember what it was like not to know… but I was just speechless with amazement.
Sunday night I went home to my rented room in a farmhouse near Amherst, Mass. It was a beautiful spring night. I went outside to pray. All I could do was cry and say, "Thank you" to Heavenly Father. For whatever reason, suddenly all of the spiritual barriers that separated me from God dissolved. It was like air rushing into a vacuum. To even try to remember this is like trying to remember what it was like to be born. I can't recapture it. I only know it happened.
God's incredible love filled my entire being. Every cell. There was no "space" that was left empty. It was absolute. It was total. It was literally as if I had been dead all of my life and this love, that I had never known, was life itself. More than anything it was personal. It wasn't a generic experience, like basking in the warmth of the sun. It was my parent, MY creator, who loved ME. And He spoke to me so gently, tenderly and so, well, lovingly…He said, "This is what I have always wanted for you."
Kathy, USA, 1973
Ever since my dad passed away we have gotten closer to the church I guess because our family is very much connected spiritually. When dad was in the hospital, it brought our family close and strengthened our faith. All of us experienced my dad's passing in different ways. Some of us had it harder to accept and some of us understood the spiritual aspect so it was easier. My dad passed away on April 3rd and in mid-May my mom and my family received the Blessing.
Mom was having a very difficult time dealing with dad's loss. Right after he died, she had a dream that she was in the hospital and the orderly told her that she cannot see him because it wasn't time. It bothered her for a long time until June 13th, the blessing at Madison Square Garden. That night she dreamt that she was walking in the park with an Oriental woman, having a deep discussion. She was a beautiful person and mom asked her how long she's been in the church. The lady told her for over 20 years. Then they sat on a bench and my dad came to my mom. He didn't talk to her but sat next to her and showed her this piece of paper that she couldn't understand. It was in another language. They started walking together for a while in the park then dad had to leave.
Then all of a sudden she was in a classroom sitting behind a man who looked like True Father from the back. She had a feeling it was him but he never turned around, then she woke up. After this dream, mom felt better and knew then that dad was all right in spirit world.
Donna, Home church member USA, 1998