Moms
Zephaniah 3:17 NLT “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
I’ve always been pretty good at saying goodbye. That’s good when you are a traveler. I also think I’m pretty good at singing. That too is good when you’re a traveler. Music has been a good way for me to get to know new people – a way to introduce myself. It turns out that music is a really good way to say goodbye.
Hearing is thought to be the last sense to leave the body when someone is dying. That’s what the nurse in my mom’s room told us. So every day I walked in and cheerily spoke to my unconscious mom. One day Pastor Pam called when I happened to be alone in the room with mom, and we prayed over her. And often I pulled out a guitar and sang. Her favorite hymns. My favorite hymns. Christmas songs. Whatever. I know she liked to listen to me sing, and I fully believed that she could hear me. I heard comments that the other patients enjoyed it too.
A couple months later when my dear friend Marge (who I thought of as my Tennessee mom), went into the hospital, I didn’t think it was about to be the same. Most of the time she was in the hospital she was alert, so when I walked in and cheerily spoke to her, I knew she heard me. One day Pastor Pam called her while I was there and prayed with her. And often I took my guitar and sang to her. Her favorite hymns. My favorite hymns. No Christmas songs. I know Marge liked to listen to me sing too and I knew she could hear me. I heard comments that the other patients enjoyed it too. Then she went home to hospice care. The last day I visited she was not conscious, but I had my guitar and I was certain she could hear me sing. I stayed for a while and her daughter, Karen, and her sister, Carolyn, joined me in one last song. “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling” About 15 minutes after I got back to my house, Karen let me know that Marge had died.
What a joy to know that I had been able to sing both of my moms home!
Music was my way of saying goodbye to both of them.
Prayer: Thank you God for mothers! Thank you for the gift of music and for creating such a beautiful way to connect with people. Amen
Jacki Rumpp (College Grove UMC)
Zephaniah 3:17 NLT “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
I’ve always been pretty good at saying goodbye. That’s good when you are a traveler. I also think I’m pretty good at singing. That too is good when you’re a traveler. Music has been a good way for me to get to know new people – a way to introduce myself. It turns out that music is a really good way to say goodbye.
Hearing is thought to be the last sense to leave the body when someone is dying. That’s what the nurse in my mom’s room told us. So every day I walked in and cheerily spoke to my unconscious mom. One day Pastor Pam called when I happened to be alone in the room with mom, and we prayed over her. And often I pulled out a guitar and sang. Her favorite hymns. My favorite hymns. Christmas songs. Whatever. I know she liked to listen to me sing, and I fully believed that she could hear me. I heard comments that the other patients enjoyed it too.
A couple months later when my dear friend Marge (who I thought of as my Tennessee mom), went into the hospital, I didn’t think it was about to be the same. Most of the time she was in the hospital she was alert, so when I walked in and cheerily spoke to her, I knew she heard me. One day Pastor Pam called her while I was there and prayed with her. And often I took my guitar and sang to her. Her favorite hymns. My favorite hymns. No Christmas songs. I know Marge liked to listen to me sing too and I knew she could hear me. I heard comments that the other patients enjoyed it too. Then she went home to hospice care. The last day I visited she was not conscious, but I had my guitar and I was certain she could hear me sing. I stayed for a while and her daughter, Karen, and her sister, Carolyn, joined me in one last song. “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling” About 15 minutes after I got back to my house, Karen let me know that Marge had died.
What a joy to know that I had been able to sing both of my moms home!
Music was my way of saying goodbye to both of them.
Prayer: Thank you God for mothers! Thank you for the gift of music and for creating such a beautiful way to connect with people. Amen
Jacki Rumpp (College Grove UMC)
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