Greetings, Mr. West! First, let me say thank you for an amazing concert and the impact you had on my son, DC, David Charles. I want to share our story with you, and why your music has had such an impact.
My wife, Angela, and I were married in 2010. She had a stroke on our honeymoon and we spent 2 weeks in ICU after hoping and praying for the best. This is a story of its own, but it meant we probably wouldn’t have children. The odds were against us already because we waited until our late 30’s for marriage. I lost my job shortly after and started flipping burgers at a fast-food restaurant when I was introduced to your song “Strong Enough”. That song really got us through that time. When I got my job back, you released Day One! This was just perfect timing for my life. My wife lost her brother to a drunk driver and you released a song “Forgiveness”. This story isn’t about us though. It’s about DC. I wanted to set the stage for what was to come.
My wife’s cousin, Amanda, got pregnant unexpectedly and then got addicted to drugs, leaving a little girl to be raised by her grandmother who was wheelchair-bound with a broken back. Angela and I tried to be present in her life, but we were limited by how much we could be. Later while in recovery, Amanda would get pregnant again. This time she was trying to stay clean and be a good mom to her daughter. She met with my wife and I in July and said she really felt like this baby was meant for Angela and I and that she wanted us to adopt him so he could have a stable and a good life. We took her to her doctor appointments and were at the hospital when he was born. He was our miracle. The longest 10 days ever were the 10 days after she signed the papers that she or the biological father could change their minds. We named him David Charles for my wife’s brother who was killed by a drunk driver, and my dad, a deputy sheriff killed in the line of duty. His name is a legacy.
Things weren’t to be smooth sailing though, and thanks to COVID I lost my job again. This would be about the time that you released “I’m Fine”. Somehow you have always managed to write the soundtrack to our life. I was rehired as soon as the business allowed them to bring us back (which was yet another miracle).
We found ourselves moving into a new house and taking my mom and Angela’s aunt as well as DC’s half sister in with us. Amanda had found herself out of rehab and disconnected again from family and they all needed us. We told DC he was adopted in July because we never wanted to lie to him. I called our new home Rehoboth because we felt God had finally made a place for us and I would walk our driveway and listen to “The God who Stays” on Spotify. One day I heard my son singing along as we walked, and I quickly introduced him to all of your songs and told him what each one meant to us as we listened.
He and his sister do “concerts” frequently to entertain us and worship God with everything an 8- and 6-year-old can muster. He’s quick to come into my office and say “Alexa, play Matthew West”. We got tickets to your concert in Newnan as a Christmas gift. DC told me repeatedly how he couldn’t wait to maybe sing the “God Who Stays” with you or maybe “Nobody.” That was such a special night for him and then when you recognized his sister for a question, they both were thrilled. It did this father’s heart proud when you called him a second time and mentioned how you watched him worship and sing along with you. He took the pick you gave him and started using it to play his uncle David’s guitar (see story about Forgiveness).
He’s beginning to play/sing “Unplanned” a lot now as well. What he doesn’t know is that his biological mother has gotten pregnant again, and he will have a baby brother somewhere. We don’t believe in accidents- miracles don’t just happen by chance. We love the fact that you are so involved with Compassion International. Angela lived in El Salvador a little over 2 years doing mission work, and that country is very precious and dear to her heart. Thank you for all that you do for the kingdom of God.
Sincerely, Tim.
