Spread Love. Spread Kindness.

After Kristi’s brother Caleb passed away, grief came in waves — some quiet, some overwhelming. But something unexpected happened in the weeks that followed. Kristi began to have vivid dreams of Caleb — not the kind you forget the next morning, but the kind that leave a deep impression on your heart.

In the first dream, Caleb was sitting on a step in a stone amphitheater. He didn’t say much, but his presence was peaceful. Kristi didn’t recognize where he was or what the place meant — it was just a dream, or so she thought. Later, she would discover that the exact place Caleb had been sitting was real: the Theatre at Caesarea National Park in Israel. Kristi had never been to Israel, nor did she know that such a place even existed. At the time, she didn’t even have a passport. A few weeks later, Kristi had another dream — one that would stay with her forever.

That night, she was jolted awake in the early hours of the morning by a loud, persistent knocking at her front door. It was so startling that she immediately thought about calling 911. But after checking, there was no one outside. No dogs barking. No signs of movement. Everything was still. She eventually calmed down and went back to sleep.

Not long after, the dream began.

In the dream, Caleb was there again. Kristi looked at him and asked, “You know you’re in Heaven, right?”

Caleb smiled, touched his heart, and replied, “Yes. Everyone is really happy here.”

She then asked him, “So, what are you up to?”

And calmly, he answered:

“I’m going to the Sea of Galilee soon.”

When Kristi woke up the next morning, the dream felt too real, too detailed to ignore. Israel had come up again. She hadn’t been thinking about it, wasn’t studying it — yet it was clearly present in her subconscious.

Out of curiosity, she typed “The significance of the Sea of Galilee” into Google, wondering what she might find. One of the first results that popped up was a Bible verse — Isaiah 9:1.

Isaiah 9:1

“Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—”
 

That verse stopped her in her tracks.

She immediately remembered the moment she thought of calling 911 during the strange knocking the night before. And now, here was a message from Isaiah 9:1, referencing the Sea of Galilee — the very place Caleb said he was going in the dream. The symbolism was too meaningful to ignore.

But why is Isaiah 9:1 significant?

It’s the beginning of a prophecy of hope. The region of Zebulun and Naphtali, mentioned in the verse, was located in Galilee — the very area where Jesus would later begin His ministry. Isaiah prophesied that although the region had known hardship and spiritual darkness, it would one day be honored. This prophecy is fulfilled in the New Testament when Jesus walks the shores of the Sea of Galilee, calls His disciples, and begins teaching, healing, and performing miracles.

In essence, Isaiah 9:1 marks the beginning of light breaking through darkness — a place of new beginnings, healing, and restoration.

And that’s exactly what the dream felt like to Kristi: not just a message from her brother, but a reassurance that he was in peace, that there was hope even in her loss, and that something greater was still unfolding.

But the story doesn’t end there.

A few days later, Kristi learned that her mother, Jackie, was set to travel to Israel. The timing was almost unbelievable. Kristi shared the dreams with her mom, who was deeply moved. She made a decision to honor both the dream and Caleb.

While in Israel, Jackie visited the Theatre at Caesarea, standing in the exact spot from Kristi’s first dream — the place she had seen Caleb. Then, following the second dream, she carried Caleb’s ashes to the Sea of Galilee and released them into the water — fulfilling what he said he was going to do.

That moment was recorded on video, not as a spectacle, but as a quiet act of love, faith, and remembrance.

For Kristi, it wasn’t just about dreams. It was about comfort in loss, clarity in chaos, and a reminder that God sometimes uses the most unexpected ways to speak to us — through dreams, scripture, timing, and peace that doesn’t always make sense right away.

The Sea of Galilee will always hold new meaning for Kristi now — not just as a place from the Bible, but as a personal connection between Heaven and Earth.