Daddy’s Dreams

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August 12th, 2008

Dear Children and older grands,

Becky and Jim were here the other evening and we were talking about people having dreams from the Lord.  I then told Becky about Grandpa Martenson having dreams from the Lord and she said I had never told her.  You know how I am always asking, “Have I told you this a million times?”.  Well apparently I hadn’t told her and maybe hadn’t told the rest of you, so I thought this might be a good time.  August is the month of Grandpa’s birthday, Aug 23rd.  This year he would have been 104.  I loved him so much and I think of him each day as I see various pictures around here of him.  But back to his dreams.

One time I asked him why he married Grandma Martenson.  He said the Lord gave him a dream three times in a row that he was to marry her.  He told me he knew dreams were from the Lord when he had them three times.  He also said, “If I hadn’t married her there would be no Rosy, Becky, Cindy, Jane, Bart or Pollyann.”  Oh, my what a sacrifice he made for us all to be alive and have the genes we do.  We know it was not a happy marriage.

When I was about 11 years old he gave me a poem book entitled, “One Hundred and One Famous Poems”.  Oh, I loved that book, and read and reread those poems.  It was strange I was reading that poetry book, when perhaps I should have been reading “Anne of Green Gables”.  But I loved it so much and became acquainted with famous people of poetry.

Well, about one year before my daddy died he told me of some other dreams he had had.  He said he knew they were of the Lord because they came 3 times.

He said the first night he dreamed he was near the water on a cove, and a big sailing vessel was coming into the harbor.  He said the first night he could only see the first words on the bow of the ship.  It said “THAN”.

Then he said the second night the same ship came in.  It was foggy but as the fog lifted he saw the words on the front of the ship, “THANATOP”.

Then the third night the same dream came but when the ship came in he read the whole name, “THANATOPSIS”.  He said he didn’t know what the name meant.

But I did and I was afraid to tell him.  I just told him it was the name of a poem.  It was in my precious book of poems and was written by William Cullen Bryant.  It is a poem about “death”.  I don’t know if I ever told him or read it to him and I still don’t know if the poem was for him, or to prepare me.

But it pierced my heart as perhaps nothing has since.

I guess I just wanted to tell you all.

Love you all, Mom/Gr. Rosy

  • Adam Dow

    I didn’t get this same letter and didn’t hear about this until quite recently. She always told me I reminded her of her dad, but I was very young when he died and don’t remember him much. It was neat to hear of his hearing from God in dreams, and his obedience to marry Grandma Mertenson. It was with tears that Grandma shared this story with me. Her dad was held in such esteem from her and his faithfulness in the midst of years of unhappy marriage and the fact that through the dreams God was also speaking to HER, was very touching.
    I’m glad we have a story of this. Like so many of these other stories and teachings, I am afraid of forgetting the things that she shared with me.