Have Mercy on Me

The thing that I love about being a writer and a musician:

Connection.
We may live separate lives,
But in a way we are all connected.
We, all broken people that have wandered astray,
Each have our own stories.
Stories of joy, hope, love, grace, redemption, and light
Along with stories of pain, struggle, sorrow, loss, and darkness.

A couple weeks ago I found myself in Lynchburg, Virginia.
I planned to be there for school, but God always has a bigger message
A bigger plan for the times that I have visited Liberty University.

It was as though God knew that I would need space and time
Away from my normal environments to heal and be encouraged.
As always, God knew the right people to put in my path
For the two weeks that I was there this June.

It was there that, alone in my hotel room,
I first listened to JJ Heller's song,
"Have Mercy on Me."
I wept
...scratch that.
I sobbed as I listened to it over and over again.

A connection.
Someone that understands.

I had read the interview she had about this song prior to listening to it.
Someone had suggested that I listen to the song
Because it was about how the artist struggles with panic attacks.
Something that I have been struggling with greatly
For the past six months.

An artist that I have never met
Took the very same words and questions that I had wrestled with in my heart
And turned it into a beautiful song.
Suddenly, I realized
That I am not alone.
And that this struggle
...will bring me closer to Him.

This is why I am a writer.
This is why I am a musician.
To show others that they are not alone
And that there is a God that loves them
So much.
A God that is with them through every story of joy
and every story filled with sorrow.