This Is Our Song

Fourteen years ago, with everything we owned in storage, Kevin packed up some essentials in the back of our Honda Element and moved to Elkhart, Indiana, in November of 2010. As we were expecting our first grandchild, I stayed behind for the blessed event. Kevin was able to come back for the long Thanksgiving weekend and meet our new sweet blessing. After this quick weekend, he flew back and resumed work, and I flew to Indiana on December 15th to join him. It was winter in Indiana, eight degrees when my plane landed, just a bit chilly for this southern California couple. Brrr.

One of the first things that Kevin did for me was to rent an electric piano, because I was teaching myself to play. Kevin would take off for work, and I would practice or write music. He would call me from work and let me know what time to expect him for lunch. After lunch, he would head back to work, and I would head back to the piano. At about 4:30, I would prepare dinner, and after dinner, I would play for Kevin the new song I had written or practice and sing a little more.

Since it was so cold out, this became our daily ritual. We slept on a blow-up mattress and bought a dining set, a few lamps, and a love seat. We figured sometime down the road, we would be able to move our belongings to Indiana from our storage in Oregon (which is another story in itself.)

Having visited a friendly church before I arrived, Kevin suggested we attend it on my first Sunday. Pastor Mike and his wife Ronnalee, a lovely Godfearing couple, took us to lunch at Texas Roadhouse that same afternoon. We enjoyed the hospitality, as well as the church service. The people at the church welcomed us with open arms, so we attended Grace Bible Church regularly. It was there that we met Bruce and Tami.

As a 4th Dan in Tae Kwon Do and a 3rd Dan in Hapkido, Bruce managed (and still does) a dojo in town. Tami was a supply chain manager for a local company. Both Bruce and Tami had degrees in Music Education. We all got along nicely. Once or twice a week, we got together for fellowship.

We spent our first Christmas with Kevin’s birth family in the suburbs of Chicago that year. It was truly wonderful. The new year brought our youngest daughter’s first anniversary, her birthday a week later, and visits to the birth family in February. I was thrilled when Kevin’s birth mom surprised me with a ticket to California for my birthday.

She said, “You need to go see that baby.”

I was so grateful and thrilled to see that precious little one again. The day before my trip, Kevin came home in shock. He had been let go from his job that we had moved cross-country for. We were both devastated. With my flight scheduled the next morning, I was anxious to leave him alone, but he encouraged me to take the two-week trip. Heavy-hearted for my husband, anxious for what might lie ahead, and thrilled to see our sweet grandbaby, I was a mess. We both were. I made the trip.

Kevin’s sweet birth mom bought a ticket for Kevin to come out to California a week later. We came back to Indiana with a short-term plan; spend March and April looking for a new position. If a new job could not be found, we would need to break our lease, say goodbye to our friends and family, sell our brand-new furniture, pack up, and head back to Southern California to look for another job, as Kevin had signed a non-compete clause in the industry. We ended up having to say goodbye.

Returning to Indiana, we found that Bruce and Tami had set their wedding date, and it was a week away. They called and asked if I could play the piano for their wedding. I just wasn’t confident enough to play and told them so. I apologized. Thursday, the phone woke us up a little after 11 PM.

It was from Bruce. “We got the church pianist to play for the wedding, but would you sing for us,” he asked.

I asked what they would like. They didn’t know. Christian or secular? Christian, but I could choose. I agreed. With all my music in storage, I thought after hanging up, what could I sing? I pondered on this dilemma for over two hours. Sometime between 1:30 and 2AM, I said to myself. “Just go to sleep and write them a song in the morning.”

In the morning, after breakfast, I sat at the piano. Within 15 minutes, I had written their wedding song. I practiced during that day as the rehearsal was that evening. The time came for me to sing it for them.

They asked me what I had chosen, and I replied, “This is Our Song.”

“Don’t think we’ve ever heard of that song,” one of them said.

“Well, you wouldn’t have because I just wrote it today for your wedding.”

They loved it as they smiled and cried, realizing the words were their wedding vows they had yet to speak. It was my gift to them. In the midst of suffering, heartache, and uncertainty, God gave me music and lyrics for this happy celebration. He always comes through in the nick of time. He surely did that day.

Below is a link to “This Is Our Song,” written for Bruce and Tami for their wedding day.

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