A number of members of the church I’m part of regularly visits the local nursing home and runs a church service. This is for the residents who are unable to get out and go to church on their own, or even accompanied. These occasional services consist of a number of (traditional) songs, a short talk, some prayer, and afternoon tea. It’s quite lovely, and there are a number of residents who quite obviously look forward to it all month (we can only go every four weeks or so).
I went for the first time on Sunday, and gave an abridged version of the sermon I preached at church. When we were sitting around before the service started, I overheard one of the ladies, who looked a little sour, complain to no-one in particular. She exclaimed “I wish she would shut up! She does it all the time - it’s constant! It’s driving me mad!”
It was only then that I overheard another of the ladies humming, slightly out of tune. She was in a bed-chair, with almost no ability to move herself. She couldn’t speak.
All she could do was make noises in her throat - in this case, she was humming.
I’ve been in nursing homes before, and it always scares me that I might end up so debilitated one day, unable to move or speak… only hum. Yet at the same time I was comforted and a little awed at these Christian people, many of whom had been Christians for twice or even three times my lifespan.
This woman was aged, crippled, unable to speak or move unaided, and hummed all the time. Constantly.
What was she humming?
Amazing Grace.
I have 
In highschool, I studied Indonesian for 6 years, doing 3-unit HSC indo in year 12 (that’s probably ‘extension’ in today’s parlance, if it’s even offered). That was 1998.
