God Has a Way

Way back in 2011, I posted on poem on this blog titled “The Way, the Truth, and the Life,” inspired by John 14:6, my favorite Bible verse. Like much of what I’ve written here, I didn’t think a lot about it after I’d posted it.

Then this past January, a young man named Douglas Byler contacted me through my author page on Facebook with a request. He wanted permission to use the words to my poem as the lyrics for a piece of choir music he had been commissioned to compose. I granted permission, on condition that he give me credit for the lyrics, and them promptly forgot all about it as I went about my busy life.

In early March, I received an email from Douglas with a draft of the sheet music, a .wav file of the music, and a contract setting out how the commission for the piece would be split!

In April, I finally heard the song, which Douglas titled “You Are the Way,” sung by the Elnora Bible Institute choir. I could not believe my ears! It is so incredibly beautiful, even with little babies fussing in the audience. And I had to chuckle at the choir director’s introduction explaining how the song came about with Douglas finding the lyrics on my blog, especially when he quipped, “So, there are good things on the internet.”

I am delighted to now have available a link to a better recording of the song on SoundCloud to share with you all. You can listen to it here.

Awe and delight best describe how I feel about what God has done with my simple poetic offering on this blog. I look forward to seeing what else He has in store. Already, Douglas has expressed an interest in setting more of my poems to music that will bless many. To God be the glory.

If you are interested in obtaining copies of the sheet music for “You Are the Way” for your choir, contact me on my Facebook page and I can put you in touch with Douglas to make arrangements.