Lord we hear you calling
We want to know you more
Light our way, revive us
Be our strength and hope
Jesus, name above all names
Jesus you’re the one who saves
You are good
You’re so beautiful and kind
Lord your ways are higher
And your thoughts beyond our own
When our faith was failing
Your love brought us back home
Jesus, name above all names
Jesus you’re the one who saves
You are good
You’re so beautiful and kind
You are holy, holy, holy Lord almighty
Holy, holy, holy Lord almighty
You are good, you’re so beautiful and kind
You are good, you’re so beautiful and kind
Jesus, name above all names
Jesus you’re the one who saves
You are good
You’re so beautiful and kind
You are good
You’re so beautiful and kind
For everyone who is hurting…
I was scheduled to begin tracking a new record on Jan 30th. I fell asleep on the 29th, a few minutes before my friend of 25 years texted that her sister was in the emergency room in Nashville and might not make it.
Torn and unsure of what was needed, I went to my first session and kept in touch throughout the day. Mid day she texted, “My doctor brain keeps wanting to fix something but I’m not sure there’s anything left to fix.”
36 year old Rachel whom I had known since she was only 10 or 11 years old was going to die.
When I left the studio for the hospital my friend texted, “You don’t have to come up.” I knew she meant that what I would see would be tough.
It was.
I stayed, prayed, spoke some scripture over her, sat and chatted, cried, and laughed over a funny princess bride video my friend shared, waited, wept, read a liturgy, and then we all said goodbye. It was surreal.
The day Rachel died @mitchdane and I had been working on a song called Beautiful and Kind that I had written (to encourage my own heart) a year prior. Mitch helped me bring it to a richer, more beautiful place, even as the news of Rachel’s imminent passing came.
Singing about the beauty, kindness, and higher ways of God when face to face with grief is not easy. But it’s right. I couldn’t sing even a scratch vocal that day but when I did finally track it, the words ran deep.
(Our dear friend, Steve also died suddenly, exactly one week after Rachel.)
This song will always hold a bittersweet place in my heart because I wrote it when seeking connection, recorded it when my heart was broken, and released it when my heart was broken again.
Songs don’t heal, Jesus does. But I’m thankful for songs in times of grief because they can remind us of what is true. I pray this comforts my Nashville community and all others who may need to be reminded of the goodness and kindness of God.
“When our faith was failing, your love brought us back home.”
