The hearing is the last to go.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down,
Thy head upon My breast."
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting-place,
And He has made me glad.


"I heard the voice of Jesus say"  one of Mom and Dad's favorite hymns. We can all hope that when we die, this is the voice we hear. 


I was talking to a very knowledgeable nurse yesterday and she told me something comforting. She said that people need to tell anyone who is dying how they feel right then because "the hearing is the last to go.." I thought to myself, is that just something said to make us feel better? Doing some research on the subject, I found that it's widely believed and proven that the hearing of a dying person IS the last thing to go. What if they are deaf? If they are deaf, they are still deaf but very sensitive to touch. What does this mean? Why is it comforting? 


Thinking how fun it would be,  I brought a beautiful picture of my parents on their wedding day to show Mom. Mom wheeled around the Westleyan, showing the picture to all her friends. Of course they all responded in love describing  what a good looking couple they were and how in love they looked. After returning to Mom's room, a tear came to my eye. I studied the picture and said "I still miss him, from time to time, I still miss him."  To my surprise, she started to wail. " Oh Mom, I'm sorry I know you miss him too." I added trying to pacify her and thinking I shouldn't have ever brought that picture in, considering this result.


She sobbed,"No, it's that he died of a broken heart. He didn't think I loved him."  Hugging my mother and kissing her cheek, "No, Mom he died of leukemia." Mom answered, "He didn't think I loved him after my stroke, he told me he didn't feel like I loved him.."she sobbed.  "Well Mom, you had a massive stroke and he had leukemia! That's certainly not very romantic. He was suffering at the time and that  made him say or feel that feeling just for one moment , just that one moment. He knew Mom, in his heart, after 65 years of marriage, you cared deeply for him!." She calmed down as we continued to discuss what a loving wife she was and how Dad knew that. 

Mom has no reason to feel guilty, none at all , we all know that but it made me consider, what about those who do? What about those who were not so kind,  not caring or forgiving enough to a loved one in the past? What if you are that person who exists in most of our families who has held a terrible grudge against someone for years over something really horrible or something really stupid but you  still need to be graceful, love them, release them and let it go?  What can you do if you have done something  you know has hurt this seemingly lifeless loved one in their last moments? It's not too late. 


Just in case, to let you know, the hearing is the last to go.