Of all of my “Wednesdays with Wanda” posts, I can bet that this one would have been Mom’s favorite so far. 

Because it’s about my 10 year old son, Jonathan.

(She would much rather talk about her grandchildren than herself!)

Jonathan held a tender spot in my mom’s heart.

He was my first child, her 4th grandchild. 

Jonathan was born with a hearing loss.  He has only 50% of his hearing in both of his ears, and has worn hearing aids since he was 3 years old.

She helped my husband and I purchase his first set of hearing aids.  (They are pretty pricey and not covered by insurance.)

Mom paid for Jonathan to go to weekly speech lessons for a year when he was 4 years old.

Throughout his 10 years of life, she was constantly assisting us in caring for Jonathan and his sweet ears.

Mom wanted Jonathan to get a new pair of hearing aids this year.  The ones he has now are several years old, and there are newer models out there that are of better quality.  And if there was something better out there for Jonathan, then Mom wanted it!

This past summer, Mom was saving money to get Jonathan some new hearing aids.  She had almost half of the money saved when we found out she had cancer.  It broke her heart that she had to stop working.  Not because she had cancer, but because she knew she wouldn’t be able to buy Jonathan his hearing aids.

Mom knew she would need that money for medical bills.

Though I knew she was upset about this, I knew that Mom had given Jonathan something more priceless than hearing aids.  She gave him her amazing love, her words of encouragement, her faith in Christ, and a wealth of precious memories!

When Mom was sick, she didn’t talk much about dying.  But one thing she did say was that she wanted Jonathan to sing “Amazing Grace” at her funeral. 

He had sang it as his school talent show five months earlier.  Mom was there to see him sing it.  She was so proud.  I have often thought that as we sat there and listened to him sing, we would have never dreamed that in a few short months, he would be singing it again at her funeral.

(Here are my boys the day of Mom’s funeral.  Jonathan is my oldest.)

Jonathan sang at mom’s funeral.  He sang with all his heart.  I KNOW that Mom heard his sweet voice all the way to the heaven.

Of course I didn’t video tape him singing at the funeral, but a few weeks later, he sang it again at our church.

I video taped it and wanted to share it with all of you.  (Its a little shaky at the beginning because the usher got in my way.)  :)

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
——Chris Tomlin
Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
Chorus:
My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures
Chorus(x2)
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

Mom’s chains are gone, and she has been set free!  Thank you, Lord, for the gift of heaven.

I praise God for giving my son the gift of singing.  It’s hard to believe that when he was born, I was afraid he wouldn’t even be able to talk!  I pray that he will always use his voice for God’s glory.

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

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