I always wondered if all the spirits who have visited me over the last few years were people I have known at some point in my life. A few years ago, I got my answer.

One night, I had a dream where I woke up in my in my bed. The bedroom door was open and I could see out in the hallway. I saw a man standing just beyond the door. Although I didn’t recognize him. His spirit seemed familiar to me. He never spoke; he just stood there and smiled at me.

When I woke up, I tried to figure out who this man was. I had started to give up because he wasn’t anyone that I had met or seen before. Although I couldn’t figure out who he was, I realized that one day I would find out the identity of this man.

A few nights later, I woke up in the middle of the night and the bedroom door was open. Like in my dream, the man was standing just beyond the door in the hallway. He didn’t say anything, he just stood there and smiled. I was relaxed and was never fearful. His spirit felt familiar to me although I still could not recall who he was.

It wasn’t until a few weeks later when I was going through family photos did I discover who his identity.  He was my father’s father. He and I had never met or spoken in my life.  He appearing to me confirmed the notion that kindred spirit who may not meet while on this earth can visit each other. It showed me that family connections can be made in life after death.

After a loved one passes, some people see or talk to them in their dreams. It is said that they come to us in our dreams because we are more open and able to handle the interaction while we are in a dream state. I have to say from personal experience that this is true.

About 17 years ago, I lost my father to cancer. I was angry and full of sadness which closed me off to any form of communication with him in the afterlife. My first thought was he had left us for good. It took me a while to realize that it was me who became disconnected from any interactions with him.

A few weeks after he passed, I fell asleep on the couch in our living room. That night I had my first interaction with him. In the dream, I woke up and he walked into the living room. This didn’t last long because I woke up almost instantly full of terror and sadness. I knew that he had passed and even though I had experiences with the supernatural my whole life, this one was strangely different for me.

For the next several months as I continued to push through, I occasionally sensed him around me, but I didn’t see him or dream about him. It wasn’t until Christmas time that I had my next dream with him in it. This interaction I was less fearful of his presence. I can’t remember what words were exchanged, but it was brief. When I woke up this time, I didn’t have the terror of the original dream, however, I was still sad because he left.

The last dream interaction I had with my dad, I walked through the kitchen to the family room in my old house. There he stood as if waiting for me to arrive. This was approximately a year after his passing. This time I struck a conversation with him. I started to tell him about two charms I had received since his death. One was a gold cross and the other said, “Daddy’s Little Girl.” He looked at me and smiled and then said that he was proud of me and I would always be his little girl.

From there, I started down the path of peace and acceptance. I woke up crying but filled with love and a reassured feeling that he was in a good place and would always be there for me in spirit.

Since that time, I have not dreamed of him, however, I have seen him wandering through my house checking on me from time to time. He has let his presence be known in subtle ways just to remind me that he is still watching over me just like he promised.