I have a friend whom I haven’t known for very long, but she is so friendly, so loving, and so full of the joy of the Lord that she will make you think she is your long-lost aunt. When I hear her voice shout “Natalie!” from across the church lobby, I know it’s her before I even see her. She has a distinct, very Italian accent—it’s beautiful, and so is she. She regularly lets me know she is praying for me and my family, blessing me with scriptures and encouragement she sends through text.

Yesterday, while at a church Christmas party, I heard “Nat-a-lee,” and there was Maria’s smiling face coming over to greet me. She said, “I had a dream. I’m not usually one to have dreams, but I had this dream about you.” As she stepped closer, I could tell this wasn’t just any old dream, she had something significant to share.

She said, “I saw you in my dream. You were wearing a BEAUTIFUL dress.” She stretched the word beautiful out, like the dress itself was twirling and floating in the air. She couldn’t fully describe it, but she began using her hands to show how stunning the dress was.

Then she said, “And you were…”
She paused. I waited.

“You,” she said, and her hands fell to her sides.

I started to tear up as she repeated the simplicity of the dream. “I saw you in my dream wearing a beautiful dress, and you were you. That’s all I can say.”

My eyes immediately filled with tears, and I felt the love of the Father embrace me. I can’t even express how much this meant to me. As simple as it was, it was the most meaningful and impactful prophetic word I have ever received, and my friend didn’t even claim it was prophetic, but it was.

You see, I never knew either of my grandmothers. They both passed away before I was born, but I had a family friend, Heidi Lewiston, whom I referred to as Granny.

She was a warm, encouraging, wise presence in my life. She passed away in 2017, shortly after I interviewed her for my Inspiring Mom series and shared her testimony online. Another time I featured Granny on my blog was in a 2015 essay titled “Pretty Dresses,” where I shared about the significance of a pretty dress for a little girl.

I wrote:
“One day, a lady from my Texas church whom I lovingly refer to as Granny told me, ‘When I see a pretty dress, I think of you.’ That was years ago, before I had children, and I can’t think of a compliment that has topped it since.”

So when my Italian Auntie Maria told me she had a dream that I was wearing a beautiful dress, it meant something. I hardly ever wear dresses. She has probably seen me in a dress maybe once. Maybe. Her retelling of the dream reminded me of Granny, and it was deeply comforting.

Then, when Maria said, “You were… YOU,” I knew that was from the Lord too.

I’ve shared journal entries from this dark season of my life, when MS flare-ups robbed me of so much—including feeling like myself. I longed to feel like me again and celebrated every small glimpse of myself that returned. Here are a few excerpts:

May 11, 2023
The morning was hard after shaking last night, but around 10:00 I started feeling like myself again. PTL.

May 24, 2023
Today was a good day. I took a 30-minute walk. I felt more like myself.

May 29, 2023
I pray that I will be one hundred percent back to myself in God’s timing.

June 14, 2023
Almost the whole day (99%) I felt like myself. just me thinking about regular stuff and feeling normal. Even if I’m stressed, sad, or mad, I don’t care as long as I’m not feeling shaky and out of it. I just want to feel like myself again. I know one good day means nothing in terms of what I’m dealing with, but I’ll take it.

July 5, 2023
It’s been 24 hours of feeling like myself!

July 10, 2023
Today was really, really great. I feel like myself.

When I have had MS flare-ups before I knew that’s what they were including now that I do, I just emphatically know this isn’t me. I want to feel like me again.

I shared this story on Facebook, but I’ll post it here too.

I received some discouraging MRI results on November 9th. It was a Sunday morning. I called my mom, who was in Sunday school. The teacher, my friend Audrey Jett, put me on speakerphone, and all the ladies prayed for me just minutes after I received the report.

The photo that showed up on her phone while they were praying was one of me wide-eyed and gleeful.

I told the ladies this is the joy and energy I pray I will have again.

I asked ChatGPT to describe the emotion in that photo. It said “the emotion is pure, unfiltered joy. It feels playful with a sense of excitement and delight—almost childlike wonder—paired with confidence and warmth. The expression feels joyful, welcoming, and infectious.”

Well, hallelujah!
That is my prayer.

When Maria said, “You were you,” that’s all I needed to confirm that God is doing it. You will be YOU. I will feel like myself again.

What a wonderful dream.