Monday, July 14, 2008

You're Not Alone

I have received countless e-mails and messages from people who have been touched by “You’re Not Alone,” and in reading these testimonies, I have been completely humbled and have cried through many of your stories. When I wrote this song during Thanksgiving of 2006, sitting at my parents’ baby grand in North Carolina, I had no inclination of how the Lord would use it to deeply minister to the hearts of broken, lonely people. All I knew at the time was that He was singing His promise over me, reminding me that He had been by my side all along, and ministering to my broken, lonely heart. Now having heard many others’ accounts of how God’s promise through “You’re Not Alone” has so encouraged and strengthened them, I want to share a few of them with you. These are real people with real hurts, trusting in a loving God who has said, “Never will I leave you.” Here is what they had to say:

"’You're Not Alone’ is really a testimony of my life. I have never heard a song that really lays out my life so closely. I appreciate it so much. You have a beautiful voice and I'm very glad you're using it to glorify God. It gives me hope for the world.”

“I absolutely love the song ‘Your Not Alone.’ I am going though a tough time in my life and have been praying alot about it. I had been feeling distant from God, and then I listened to your song and it just made me realize He has never left me. It was exactly what I needed to hear.”

“Last fall I moved to a new state to teach in a little Christian school and at times it was very lonely. Towards the end of the year I listened to ‘You're Not Alone’ ALOT. It really seemed to express my feelings, and became kind of like a prayer with me.”

"’You're Not Alone’ has been a blessing to me and someone close to me after I played it for him. He is in the Marine Corps and is set for a seven month deployment sometime in July for Iraq. He has gone through alot lately, and with no one close to him on base he gets pretty lonely sometimes. I played "You're Not Alone" for him yesterday and he just broke down in tears. I reminded him that God is there for him when he's going through tough times and when the lonely times are too much to handle.”

“Last night was another lonely night. A pretty "dark night". Hearing your songs today on your myspace have really made me feel a lot better. Still pretty lonely but now more comforted. The words were spot on, just what I needed to hear.”

“My daughter and I saw you in concert in with Brandon and Aaron. She is 17 and for the last 8 months has been struggling with severe depression. When I bought the tickets to the concert it was just something we had talked about and I thought would be fun for her to do. When you sang ‘Your Not Alone,’ my daughter just started to cry. It was as if you had been living right here beside us all this time and wrote that song just for her.”

“’You’re Not Alone’ has spoken to me in my time of need from the Lord, to know He is here for me. So thank you, Meredith for your faithfulness to the Lord with His songs.”

“Hi... I just wanted to let you know how much your music truly touches people. I just had an ectopic pregnancy and had major abdominal surgery on May 10th. I came home very tearful after being in the hospital as it is not the first baby I have lost, and do not have any living children. I almost died and could not understand why God allowed this to happen to me. I was ready to give up on life, literally, but then my iTunes playlist hit four of your songs and I felt so much better. I was able to let God be there to hold me versus blame Him and pull away. Your songs literally saved my life. I was told I needed to give my baby a name to help with closure. Her name is Meredith Lynn. Lynn was my adopted mothers middle name who also passed away shortly after my adoption. You can guess where Meredith came from. Thanks Meredith for your hard word and unfailing faith in God to do His work and spread the joy and healing.”

“’You're Not Alone’ ministered to my heart sooooooooooo much. By God's grace I grew up in a Christian home yet there have been many times in my life when i've felt alone and abandoned. In my mind I knew God was with me, but in my heart I couldn't seem to accept it. You're Not Alone has become one my most favorite songs! It's really blessed my life and I just want to thank you for allowing God to use you in your ministry.”

“Your song, ‘You're Not Alone’ came on the radio and I think that was totally God because it was exactly what I needed to hear. That's really where I'm at in my life right now; feeling all alone and I really needing to be reminded that I’m not- that I need to stop worrying and stressing out about everything that God is completely in control of.”

“’You’re Not Alone’ makes me think of how wonderful our heavenly Father is to us, loves us, brings us in from our deepest despair. Like others I have had numerous significant losses in my life, including my fiance and two sisters, but God can reach us. I have been in the process of adopting from China since Jan. 2006, and the wait has continued to get longer and longer. It has been an emotional roller coaster ride at times, but your song really ministered to me like God is singing to her, and me singing to her that God would wipe away her tears and bring her home, and that He has loved her all her life, before she was even conceived.”

“I have been living for God all my life, even thru my parents divorcing, me getting married at the young age of 17 and my husband leaving me and marrying another woman... I've been thru too much to mention but all of the glory goes to God for me making it thru. There have been so many times I have felt all alone. Only one that has faced that kind of hurt can truly understand just how alone one might feel. Well, I heard the song ‘You're Not Alone’ the other day on the local Christian radio station and I believe that God gave it to me! It means so much to me, the lyrics, the music.
Then today I received an email from a friend of mine and she began to tell me about her situation and how much she was feeling alone and disconnected and that she wants to hold on and believe that God is going to see her thru. She had even thought of ending her own life but God spoke to her. Immediately I thought of your song and sent her the video from the internet. She wrote me back and said "That is awesome! It's exactly what I needed!"

“Your song has touched the deepest part of my heart and put all I have been feeling into words I could never articulate. I felt as if God was singing right to me just to remind me that he is here. I just wanted to say thank you for blessing me at such a hard and lonely time in my life.”

I pray that these have touched your heart like they have mine. Thank you to each one who has let me know how much God has used "You're Not Alone" in your life. Let me also encourage you, Friend…this promise is for YOU. No matter what your circumstance, no matter how far you’ve fled from Jesus, His arms are open wide, waiting for you to turn and run back home. Read these verses and know that God’s promises are loving and true: Deuteronomy 31:6 & 8; Joshua 1:5; Psalm 23:4; Psalm 46:7.

2 comments:

Gary Durbin said...

thanks for the reminder...great song.

Speaking Thru Me Ministries said...

what an incredible song!!! it is on my phone for all to hear every time they call me!!! I am praying it ministers to many!! thank you for allowing His ministering to you to overflow to all of us!! love, Leigh