A Kiss from Heaven

Scott Owens is a big man with a bigger heart. Scott in his heyday could hit a softball a mile, but near his 50th birthday, he suffered a heart attack while driving at work. After nine days on a ventilator he opened his eyes and with his wife Cathy standing on one side of his hospital bed and me on the other, I asked, “Scott can you blink your eyes as a sign you hear us.”  As he opened and shut his eyes on command, we were in awe as we both knew he was aware of our presence.

Scott after three months is still in a battle to return home. Unable to swallow, a feeding tube nourishes him, but Scott is fully cognizant and converses with us as he works on overcoming the hurdles to go home and get on with life. Pray for Scott as he is in and out of hospitals and rehab centers.

Recently there was one day when visiting Scott I had a kiss from Heaven.  I experienced something I never had in visiting hundreds if not thousands of people over the preceding 40 years of ministry. Scott’s speech is good, but when his voice is tired, he uses made-up sign language or writes on a notepad to communicate. I was joking with him about his sign language and as I was starting to leave this particular day he took my hand and guided it to his face. He proceeded to take my finger and kiss it.

I realized he was saying thanks for taking the time to visit and care. I responded by reaching over the side of the bed and hugged him and told him I loved him and that everyone is praying for him. As I walked to the other side of his bed to leave the room, I stopped and turned around and told him I think I need another one of those hugs.  I walked over and hugged him again. I want you to know there was more than just a hug between Scott and I that day. For a brief moment, when we hugged we both touched the hand of God reaching out to both of us revealing Christ’s compassion and love for all of us as we received a kiss from Heaven.

“For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.” 1 John 3:11