Jan
19
2016
Whispers Of Grace
Posted in Faith 4 Comments
They were married for 62 years.
They knew each other from the time they were 11 years old.
His 83 years and her 81 years were beginning to take their toll.
They each suffered from various health issues yet remained faithful and steadfast in their love.
He has spent the last three months in and out of hospitals.
Having diabetes, he has had four major surgeries because of poor circulation.
All the surgeries were an attempt to save his feet.
Within the past week, he had his middle toe amputated because of the disease.
He has been a faithful husband.
He was also a father.
I have the privilege of knowing one of his daughters.
She has been coming to Bible study for years.
At our last Bible study, when we took turns reading the passage, she struggled.
God’s Word touched her heart so deeply, she could not continue to speak.
Little did I know what difference a week would bring.
But God knew.
Her father was in stage 4 kidney failure.
He needed dialysis but could not endure it because his heart was in such poor condition.
A decision needed to be made concerning his care since his body was shutting down.
Care was chosen to tend to her father with the dignity he deserved.
My friend told me that her father was never an emotional man.
He was not demonstrative with his feelings.
However, my friend desperately needed what she knew her father was unable to give her.
She knew that she may never hear all the things she needed to hear for the closure she desired.
A week after our Bible study, my friend spent three hours alone with her father.
He said his goodbye to me, she said sweetly.
Though speech was difficult for him, her father told her all the things she longed to hear.
I love you. I love your mother. I did my best.
The grace of God permeated that room.
There was closure.
God gave her closure.
She, the caregiver for both of her parents, was the recipient of God’s amazing grace.
The next day, her father was moved to hospice care.
He slowly became unresponsive.
The following day, they demagnetized the defibrillator on his pacemaker.
He was in no pain; though time was running short.
Later that evening, he could not respond and he did not open his eyes.
My friend held onto the memory of the three hours she had with her father.
She held onto the words he said to her that she so desperately needed to hear.
His lips were chapped, his mouth was dry; the nurse kept him comfortable.
My friend’s father wore hearing aids in both of his ears.
He could not hear without them.
My friend took the hearing aids out of her father’s ears.
Just to make him more comfortable.
An hour later, my friend’s mother arrived in a wheelchair to be with her husband.
Dealing with her own health issues, she could not be with him as much as she wanted.
Family members wheeled her into the room and positioned her next to the bed.
Paul, I am here now. Honey, I am here, as family members helped her to stand.
She spoke despite the fact that his hearing aids were removed.
He had been unresponsive.
Suddenly, her husband opened his eyes.
He turned his head towards her, he smiled at her, and breathed his last breath.
The tears were flowing from my own eyes, as I listened to my friend tell this story.
He should not have been able to hear her, my friend declared.
His hearing aids were gone; he should not have been able to hear her.
It was God’s grace. It was God’s grace, she repeated.
I asked my friend what I could do for her.
Can I make a meal for you, can I… but she didn’t let me finish.
There is something you could do for me, she said quietly.
You could write a Whisper about all of this; this story is a Whisper.
I was touched.
I was so moved that any simple words I might put together would bless her.
As I listened, I heard it, too.
God whispered in these events.
God’s grace always whispers.
God does not get our attention with clanging cymbals.
God’s grace comes quietly, almost imperceptibly.
God’s grace whispers while the world screams.
He should not have been able to hear her.
His hearing aids were gone; he should not have been able to hear her.
God’s grace whispered.
Open your eyes, Paul. One last time, see the face of your wife.
We have to obey.
We have to respond.
We have no choice.
God’s Whisper is heard clearly.
The Lord God said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood in the mouth of the cave.
(1 Kings 19:11-13)
Many have their theories as to what happened in that room.
How did an unresponsive man who could hear nothing without his hearing aids, hear his wife?
How did a man with labored speech tell his daughter all the things she needed to hear?
How?
The question is not, How?
The question is, Who?
The answer is God.
God’s grace whispered loud enough for an unresponsive man to hear.
We, too, are the recipients of God’s grace.
We, too, are unresponsive until He causes us to hear.
God is characterized by His amazing grace, His loving kindness, and His mercy.
Little things that mean so much, He orchestrates so perfectly for our good.
The whispers of God’s grace are for our good.
However, they are also for His glory
They are always for His glory.
God is glorified in the Whispers.
Do you hear it?
God’s Whispers are all around you.
Listen, really listen.
Open your ears; God is whispering right to your heart.
Regina,
Thank you for writing this. What a privilege to be bound together with these Whispers. You have blessed our dear friend.
Cathy,
Yes we are bound together with these Whispers and so much more. Praise God that He brought us together. Old friends and new friends. Priceless.
Regina
I too have had many of God’s whispers and ,moments of grace–thank You, Lord! What a blessing to be a child of God.
Sue,
The Whispers are all around us. The challenge is to hear them.
Praise God that you have heard God’s Whispers in your life.
Gina