What do we look like in Heaven’s eyes?

Many years ago, back in the days I could “hear” and before Sandi Patti’s “fall from grace”, I use to listen to her sing, “In Heaven’s Eyes”.

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SIDE NOTE:  Exactly what IS a “fall from grace”?  One can’t FALL FROM GRACE! (said… with a bit of a screech in my voice).  She only “fell” from a legalistic pedestal erected by bozos who think THEY have never done anything in need of “grace”.  She is as human as the rest of us… living life, making mistakes, saved by GRACE!

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I have “lively” conversations with a culturally Deaf lady from time to time.  “Lively”, because we really do burn calories in signing our own point of view about a topic.  We have “good arguments”.  The kind of arguments that I hope she thinks about (and blogs about?) as much as I do when we go our separate ways.

We ended up talking about deafness as we often do.  She tries very hard not to hold it against me that I chose to get a cochlear implant.  She succeeds in her attempts… MOST of the time.  However, at times it just gets the best of her and we “argue in a good-natured” way.  She is a very self-assured woman who was born Deaf and has lived her entire life deeply involved in the Deaf culture here in our country.  She worries that so many children born Deaf as she was, are being implanted with cochlear implants.  I think she worries about the future of the Deaf.  Her biggest pet peeve is for someone to behave as if she can’t THINK as a result of her not being able to hear.  She doesn’t feel broken.  She doesn’t feel disabled.  She feels very normal.

I know she is a believer and so teased, “Well what are you going to do when you get to Heaven?”

“Not Deaf in Heaven’s eyes,” she replied in sign.  “Not hearing (pointing to me) in Heaven’s eyes.  Same (as she indicated both of us).

I instantly remembered the title of the song by this title, written by Phill McHugh, and sung by Sandi Patti.  I asked her if she’d ever seen the words to the song before.  (You don’t ask a Deaf person if they’ve HEARD a song before – smile).  She had not.

I got us “back on track” in our conversation, and explained that she misunderstood what I meant.  I explained how there will be no deafness, blindness or other disabilities in Heaven.  I perhaps got a little carried away as I often do, in talking about Heaven… it took me a full minute to realize her face was unhappy.

She explained that she knows and has read that there is no sickness in Heaven.  She has heard pastors teach that “the deaf will hear, the blind will see, the lame will walk”. Everyone will have a perfect body in Heaven.

No pain.

No tears, nor sorrow.

No sickness.

No calories.

GLORY! (smile)

I realized that, as she has no problem being Deaf and does not consider her deafness a disability, “whats to fix” when she gets to Heaven?  She even tearfully told me that if she has to “hear in Heaven”, she’s not sure she wants to go.

Woah.

Perhaps that is why when someone develops a disability later in life, their perspective is different.  I’ll probably get some “mail” for saying this, but…

If you’ve never heard before, how can you say you don’t miss sound?

My own study of history and the Bible, convinces me to stand firm in my thinking that in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve could hear perfectly.  I think every part of their bodies worked perfectly.  We were created with ears, the inner parts of which all work together in a wonderful way, allowing us to hear.  It wasn’t until that bite of fruit and disobedience that deafness worked it’s way into our genes. Along with other disabilities, cholesterol, diabetes, birth defects, and

Weight Watchers.

You know you have a real friend, when you can “agree to disagree” and go on from there. It brings me great joy to hear my own young adult children talk about friends they have that don’t believe EXACTLY the way they do. Even better? Rest in the friendship of one who challenges you to discover what you really believe. Hmm.  I’ll save this for another post!

I could tell with startling clarity, my friend and I were at an impasse. Sometimes it’s better to “zip your lips” if you know nothing more can be said in a constructive way.  I guess in this case, I “sat on my hands” versus “zipping”.

Treasuring our friendship, I decided to back up and share the words of that song with her.  She loved the message as well.  This past month, I found out that my Deaf friend is gone.  I only saw her at her place of work, and she lost her job. I need to put on my detective hat and find out where she is now, and see about meeting her for coffee.

I’ll leave “you” with the words to this song as well.  I love it, for it reminds me that Heaven really does view us all the same.  How we look, what we do, where we were born, nor how well our bodies “work”, matters in Heaven’s thinking.  We all need a Savior.

A fervent prayer rose up to heaven,
A fragile soul was losing ground
Sorting through the earthly babble,
Heaven heard the sound.

It was a life of no distinction,
No successes, only tries.
Yet gazing down on this unlovely one,
There was love in Heaven’s Eyes.

The orphaned child, the wayward father,
The homeless traveler in the rain
When life goes by and no one bothers,
Heaven feels the pain.

Looking down, God sees each heartache,
Knows each sorrow, hears each cry,
And looking up, we’ll see compassion’s fire
Ablaze in Heaven’s Eyes.

Refrain:

In Heaven’s Eyes, there are no losers,
In Heaven’s Eyes, no hopeless cause.
Only people like you, with feelings like me
And we’re amazed by the grace we can find
In Heaven’s Eyes.

Denise Portis

© 2008 Hearing Loss Journal