'Til The Blue

Hey everybody,

My heart has continued to break for those whose lives have been devastated by #HurricaneHarvey. As I’ve joined my prayers with so many I’ve found myself wrestling with having “the right thing” to say as a response, particularly in the world of social media. I know… I know... there are a lot of great things that can be accomplished with social media… and, of course, plenty of “not so great things” too!

But when things like this happen I’m always afraid of throwing quick words, as well meaning as they may be, at such a deep, dark and complex pain. I’ve said this before, maybe even in a Facebook post, but the words that I found most comforting and encouraging in the darkest moments when our daughter Maria went to heaven, especially at the beginning of that journey, were words like, “I’m so sorry… there are no words...but I will just be with you in this.”
I found myself wrestling with this again just a few days ago as I was asked to sing at yet another funeral of a friend who went to Heaven way before any of us would’ve expected. I’m so thankful for the privilege of sharing a couple of songs to basically say, “I’m with you…I don’t understand this…I’m trusting God with you and “for you” that the story isn’t over yet.”

Our experience of walking through the “valley of the shadow of death” on our journey has taught, or more accurately, continues to teach us many things. One of those is the fact of something Psalm 27 says when it talks about seeing “the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

There were many moments when the pain was so intense and the darkness was so dark, that it was hard to imagine it would ever even be appropriate to laugh again, or even just feel joy again. But our family took the next breath and next step through those days with people around us helping us believe that we would in fact see goodness and beauty and feel joy again. One of those first moments I remember so vividly (I actually wrote about it in my book) was the moment Mary Beth Chapman and I stood at the cradle of our first Grandbaby, Eiley. It was a holy and incredibly healing moment, as some of the first tears of joy in a long time streamed down our faces. It was so good…and so desperately needed. In a way, it was like the blue had started to return to our very dark and stormy sky.

So as I pondered what I might have to say to those who are walking with heavy hearts through a great darkness right now, I decided to once again respond the best way I know how… with a song. I had started writing this chorus a few days ago on my way to a songwriting session with a couple of world class songwriters, Barry Dean and Lori McKenna. I had only met Lori a couple of days earlier when she graciously came to perform on Sam’s Place at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. She was awesome! I had met Barry once before a couple of years earlier at a songwriter night at The Bluebird Cafe… he told me he had grown up listening to my music… I was pretty blown away!

I admit I was a little nervous going in to write with these two amazing songwriters…Lori wrote “Humble and Kind” for Tim McGraw among many other incredible hit songs. Barry has written songs for Little Big Town, Blake Shelton and a long list of others, including my buddy Brandon Heath. I told them I had this idea for a song that came to me as I thought about and prayed for folks who were dealing with the devastation in Texas. They liked what they heard and we finished the song together. What an honor it was to write a song with these two who are not only amazingly talented but just amazing human beings.
I haven’t had a chance to properly record this song yet, but I sat down in the dressing room where I’m playing a concert tonight in Merced, CA and recorded this with the hope that it would encourage many who might need to be reminded that they are being thought of, prayed for and reached out to, “until the blue returns to their sky.”

Blessings,
scc

p.s. Proud of Natalie Grant and my fellow artists for gathering together tonight to help bring hope and healing through the Together For Texas Facebook Live Concert Event. I couldn’t be with them because I was already booked to be in Merced, but I’m cheering them on from CA. and thankful to them and the great work of Convoy of Hope… one of many great places to help in a tangible way.