**********

Sometimes the story behind the song comes after the song. “I Feel You There”, sung by my darling sister, Caitlin Adamz, is something I wrote years ago, inspired by the book “With You All The Way” by Max Lucado. I kind of willy-nilly submitted this song to a contest where I actually ended up tying for honourable mention (4th) with Janice Kapp Perry. I felt it was very honourable that I was even mentioned at all, let alone to tie with one of my favourite Church artists! This submission, however, ended up also being tied to a very valuable lesson for me.

I had submitted this song with the hopes of winning the $2500 1st prize, which I thought might be nice to use for some music production. The contest submission was May of 2013, with the contest winners to be announced in October of that same year.

“I Feel You There” 

In September, however, I was contacted with a special request by an individual who hoped that I could share my music with a family close to her who had lost a missionary son while serving. I said I would certainly give them a song, without thinking too much about it. However, sheet music just didn’t feel like enough. The amount I needed to produce a professional track of “I Will Serve Him” would be about $2500 Canadian, the amount that I hoped I might win from this contest (that I suddenly remembered I had entered). This was too easy I thought! So I banked on the fact that I would win the money, because (I argued in my mind) it was a noble and worthy cause. October 31st, I sat by my computer waiting eagerly to hear the results. However, the Lord had other plans….

Because I missed winning any money at all (and by just one place, sadly), I chose to believe that the Lord must have something better in store. And he DID! The day after the contest announcement, I dug a little deeper, prayed a little harder, and then chose to write more Christmas material and produce a Christmas concert….on very short notice (this was November 1st…and my husband told me I was utterly crazy…I probably was…). I also told my producer to get busy on the production of I Will Serve Him because I knew it was going to work out. I sent him a deposit and he promised me a track by Christmas to give to this family. Regardless of the outcome, I knew I had to fulfill the request for this family.

Then, I got busy writing, and by the end of November, I had 8 new songs to add to another 4 I already had, which gave me enough to put on a Christmas concert. I kindly asked my talented friends and family to participate, who learned the songs as they were hot off the press, and we put on a concert on the concert December 14th and filled an entire theatre to overflowing.

Knowledge of just how much of miracle this was, however, occurred afterwards. At home that evening, I counted the money on my living room table. The ticket sales, plus a few CD sales ended up covering EXACTLY – to the dollar – what I needed to produce the song, including the US/Canadian exchange. I started to cry, because I knew that Heavenly Father had heard my prayers. I truly felt Him there, and that He had been in the details of this scenario all along. Someone had even slipped a $50 bill into my hand after the concert, just wanting to donate further to my music, not realizing that was exactly what it cost to rent the theatre as well.

It was a testimony to me that the Lord really is there and that we can feel Him close when we choose to view life through spiritual eyes. There are no coincidences! It was also a miracle that I was able to pull off the concert and dodge flu bugs at Christmas at the same time!

Through this experience I have learned that when God closes a door, he always opens a window, where His light shines through, bringing us the warmth and comfort to know He is there. And through the glass of this window, we can see a glimpse of the plan He has in store.

I’m actually grateful I didn’t win the contest because the blessings of not winning far outweighed the monetary prize. The concert pushed me to finish 8 more Christmas songs (which really needed to happen!), but it also allowed me to share with over 200 people on a personal level, a special Christmas program and my testimony of the Savior. I was able to involve vocalists – where they were able to serve and use their talents, and many in attendance said that the concert was exactly what they needed that Christmas. The Lord is so mindful of all.

The most important blessing, however, is that I was able to recognize God’s love for me, personally, and know that He is in the details of my life. He heard my prayer and the desire of my heart to serve a family in need of comfort. “I Will Serve Him” was complete and released on December 22, 2013 to the family, just in time for Christmas. Lastly, subsequent miracles occurred in my quest to find many other families who lost missionaries while serving which just reaffirmed His love multiple times over the weeks and months that followed.

 

 

Miracles don’t often happen for me this way. I am forever grateful for this experience and will always give away my song “I Will Serve Him” – as it was paid for by my own little town through a small miracle.

 

Download the sheet music, vocal track, and accompaniment track of “I Will Serve Him” HERE.

Download sheet music for “I Feel You There” HERE.