A few days later, I received a call from my dear friend Natalie. A dear friend in common, had asked Natalie, to ask me if I would be willing to come to the ICU unit to lullaby her husband and minister to him with my songs and oils. I gratefully accepted the invitation to go and minister to her husband, that very evening.
Our friend, my former client’s husband, Cam, had been in a sledding accident, days before, which left him paralyzed from the pectorial muscles down. When I arrived in the ICU unit, I was directed to his room. As I approached his bed, he slowly opened his eyes and greeted me with a weary but heart-warming smile. “Karyn Grant?” He said with a deep breath. “Yes, I am Karyn Grant.” I smiled at him and whispered, “…thank you so much for letting me come to see you! I wanted to come and be here with you!”
“Thank you for coming…” he smiled gingerly. “I know of you because your voice and your oils have blessed my wife, our home, family and neighborhood so much. My wife has done so much good in our neighborhood with aromatherapy since she met you.” I was taken back for a moment. I had no idea that the prayers I have offered countless times, were being answered; “Please bless my client’s husbands with the scents and songs of my heart. Let these oils and lullabies bless the husbands and fathers as well as the women and children!” “Thank you so much for letting me know…I had no idea…” I said, as I gently squeezed his hand.
Cam asked me to hold the straw for him that was laying beside a cup of chicken bullion. As he sipped the warm fluid, we talked quietly for a few moments.“This is my first hospital food…my wife has been bringing me fresh fruits and vegetables…I loved cucumbers and celery…” he said with a grateful smile.
I pulled out a small cd player, the “Divine Essence CD”, essential oils and some lotion. Slowly, I put the head phones on his ears and began to massage his hands and feed him grapes as he listened to the music. I felt such strength and power in his hands, as the message of God’s love in music, prompted him to squeeze my hand as he listened to the songs and breathed in the aromas. Delicately, I put the oils, “Scents of Peace” and “Child-like Faith” onto his forehead and on his upper lip so that he could breathe in the solacing aromas as he listened. I did not expect such a gracious and tender reaction… With every stroke, he sighed deeply and continued to affirm, “I am in heaven…this is heaven…thank you so much for coming…”
How could a man who had just undergone such a debilitating accident connect so consciously to a bit of heaven on earth? I realized as I massaged his hands that this was bringing to his conscious awareness, every single one of his God-given senses. His spirit was not paralyzed! His spirit was alive and aware and reawakening, even though his body was paralyzed, through his physical senses which seemed so acute!
Soon, my dear friend, Natalie, the woman who had invited me to come, came into the room. As she massaged Cam’s shoulders and arms, she whispered words of love and encouragement to him. He continued to whisper words of praise to her—thanking her for each and every stroke. Never had I seen anyone, more grateful for the sense of touch.
I watched in amazement, as a man, 50 years old, blessed every one of his God-given senses, as we ministered to him. Each grape was a gift. Each wisp of a new aroma, a pure delight. Each sound, each tone of music…a reminder of heaven. I said to him, “We are here to spoil you!” He smiled, with his eyes closed and whispered, “You are spoiling me…but you’re not quite there yet…”
I marveled at how even his sense of humor was accute and active, though he was obviously exhausted from the effort of trying to clear his throat. “I prayed this morning that I would be able to clear my throat today. It’s a simple act that normally we perform forty times a day, but, I haven’t been able to do it since yesterday. I’ve been working at it all day. I also prayed…” he whispered as he inhaled and exhaled deeply, “that I would be able to sleep well tonight.”
He talked to us about “cherishing the moment” and I thought of the book I had been writing that takes each and every day, one at a time, and makes that day, a day to be praised, rejoiced over and celebrated. Even after all that Cam had been through, he was still finding beautiful reasons to rejoice and “cherish the moment”. In such a beautiful and tenderly expressive way, he was teaching me how to express gratitude for blessings that I take for granted. He celebrated each moment that we spent with him.
Before we left, I asked him if he would like us to say an evening prayer with him. He offered the most beautiful prayer, in our behalf. Not mention of himself, only rejoicing that we had come and that others had come throughout the day. He thanked the Lord for the sweetness of each grape, for the friend who had brought them and for each tenderness rendered to him. I felt so humbled, as I listened—realizing how often I take the small and simple joys for granted.
I told Cam about my desire to “Lullaby The Fathers” and asked him if we might sing him a lullaby so that he might have “sweet dreams”. “Oh…” he said, as he closed his eyes,“the Fathers need it so much…we need it sooo much…” His voice trailed off as Natalie and I sang to him, acapella, “Oh Know Ye Not That Angels Are Near?”from my “Healer’s Touch” CD, to close the evening and leave a blessing upon his heart and mind. As we walked to my car, we marveled together about the amazing gift that the human body is—and yet, when everything else is taken away, what a blessing to still have our God-given senses—including our sense of humor.
The greatest sense I learned about, is that a sense of gratitude and rejoicing is not dependent upon our circumstances. Here was a man who demonstrated to me, a spirit and character that cannot be defeated though his physical body is asleep. How awake, how aware, how robust his spirit!
I am grateful for the opportunity to meet the wonderful men that I do on a daily basis…I want to uplift them, praise them, rejoice over them and encourage them—but in the process, it is I who is being “thrice blessed”.
Posted 05.13.2013 (Experience happened with Natalie Goddard, Feb. 12, 2013)
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