Denise: I’m 69 years old, and I’m dying. It’s complicated, but I have a tiny antibody that is destroying my lungs, and it’s rare, so there aren’t a lot of treatments. I’m on medication that may slow it down, but the verdict is clear: either two months or two years, I will die from this disease. I came upon Matthew’s album, My Story Your Glory through a God-thing, and it has encouraged and changed my perspective beyond belief. I keep in contact with friends about how I’m doing on FB, and posted the story below. I just thought Matthew and others might like to know how his music has helped one life.
I sing. Some of you who have sat next to me in church may question my use of the word ‘sing’, and Gracie, my sweet bloodhound, may sit next to me on the couch and paw at my mouth to get me to stop, but I sing. Sometimes, in the quiet sunrise hours, I take my little Bluetooth speaker down to my patio and softly sing along with the birds, alto, a cappella, with the Zoe Group. It seems to fit. Mostly, I sing in the car. (Great acoustics in a car!) I can crank it up, pretend the artist needs harmony, and sing to my heart’s content. Occasionally, the strange looks I get from other drivers makes me laugh. I drive an hour each way to the office once a week for meetings. I don’t mind the drive, and I sing the whole way, disturbing only the deer, horses, and cows that I see as I maneuver through the winding back roads. The point isn’t that I sing – it’s WHAT I sing. My playlists include an eclectic number of genres, but the ones I’m listening to now are full of hope and love and the promise of a life after this. The Christian singer/songwriter Matthew West is on shuffle right now. You won’t find his music being sung in modern churches- there’s no loud guitars, crazy drums, or lines repeated until you wonder if God is thinking, “I’ve got it! Move on!”
Matthew (don’t you love how we’re on a first name basis?) is more of a troubadour, telling his stories in a way that makes you think about your purpose and the life you’ve led or can lead. Right now, my favorite album of his is called ‘My Story Your Glory’. When I begin to feel discouraged or depressed about what’s happening in my life, his words lift me up. The album’s title song has the line: “My story – Your glory; my mess – Your message; my pain – Your purpose; in all things I know You’re workin’. One life; one mission; one reason why I’m livin’; All for you – not for me; My story – Your glory”. The words lift me up when it hurts to move, I can’t make the hike down my hill, or I’m having a coughing fit just because I’m breathing. There’s a purpose, and I’ll learn what it is when I get there.
At lunch with my grown daughter, we were searching for conversation starters. Kristen asked me what my goals for 2024 were. Without hesitation, I blurted out, “to survive!” She resignedly, but jokingly, put her head down on the table and we all laughed. I thought about another of Matthew’s songs and the line “This life ain’t always wonderful, but this life ain’t all there is”. It’s not. It’s just NOT! There is more waiting for us – of that I’m so very sure. One of my favorites on Matthew’s album is ‘The Last Song’. The chorus says, “As long as I am breathing I will lift a melody. It’s just my way of saying, ‘Thank You, Lord, for loving me’. I could sing a thousand songs about how good to me You’ve been. So I’ll just keep on singing until the last song ends.” But then, he throws in even more hope: “Cause if this is my last, it won’t be the last one that I sing. There’s one more song that will live on for all eternity. I’ll join with all the angels singing Heaven’s melody. And I’ll tell You face to face, ‘Thank You, Lord, for loving me.’ I’ll praise Your name forever, can’t wait for that day when the last song that I sing will be a song that never ends.” And so, I sing.
