Jeremy L. Berg

My uncle Gary is nearing the end of his earthly pilgrimage and preparing to meet Jesus. I have had the privilege of ministering to him with my Bible, guitar and communion a few times. Hospital rooms and end of life ministry are what the Irish call “thin places” — where our earthly realm often bumps up against the heavenly realm. “Be on the look out for angels,” I always tell the dying.

Today, Gary shared something very special. He can’t speak, so he communicates by typing messages onto an iPad and the iPad reads it aloud to us. He told us, “Last night Mom came to me in my sleep to say hello.” Mom (my grandma) is in Heaven, so tears welt up in all of our eyes. This kind of thing doesn’t surprise me at all. The veil between this world and the next is becoming very thin.

Gary has gone 28 days without food, and each morning wakes up, surprised (and disappointed!) he is still here. He is at peace, ready to go, not in pain. He is full of faith and anticipation to meet his Savior. Gary enjoys looking at old pictures and talking about loved ones he’s soon to be reunited with in Heaven. This scripture comes to mind as he lies there waiting patiently and calmly: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants” (Ps 116:15).

I shared with Gary one of my favorite stories of death-bed faith pertaining to Stephen in Acts 7 where he sees heaven open and Jesus standing ready to receive him. Listen to my podcast reflection on that Scripture called “When Life Knocks You Down.”

Sometimes God just gives you the right song for the right moment. I have recently been listening to and thinking about Tom Petty’s beautiful song “Southern Accents.” After singing a few hymns, I played this song for him. In the bridge of the song, Tom sings about a dream he keeps having where his mom comes to him, kneels down by the window, and prays for him.

For just a minute there I was dreaming
For just a minute it was all so real
For just a minute she was standing there with me

There’s a dream I keep having where my mama comes to me
And kneels down over by the window and says a prayer for me
I got my own way of prayin’ but everyone’s begun
With a southern accent where I come from

Uncle Gary doesn’t talk with a southern accent, but he’s kind of lived his life with a southern accent. He’s a country boy at heart, with southern sensibilities. His photo albums are full of road trips out west. He wore cowboy boots and big belt buckles. He went country line dancing in his younger days. His favorite music is from southern artists like Alabama and Garth Brooks. And today I like to think our time of prayer and ministry had a subtle southern accent to it.

Check out Dolly Parton’s tribute to Tom Petty in her version of his song. I hope tonight Gary has another dream where “it was all so real,” only instead of Grandma standing there with him, it will be Jesus himself welcoming his servant home…perhaps even with a southern accent just for fun. :)

And here’s Johnny Cash’s version of “Southern Accents.” :)

And finally, the original performed live by Tom Petty. RIP, Tom.