Beauty Behind the Pain

So what’s the story behind “Beauty Behind the Pain?” Unless you’ve seen us live and up close over the past year, you might be wondering this very question. It comes from a very personal matter in my own life and marriage. Though I’ve certainly had ups and downs in my own life, and certainly not without faults, God still chose to bless me with a wonderful woman of God. She too had her own bumpy and winding road that ultimately led to me. I got the better end of the deal. Thank You Jesus!

Not long into our marriage my wife became pregnant with our child, only to lose the child at 10 weeks. If that wasn’t enough, we lost two more in succession following the loss of the first one. Our hearts were not only heavy, but they felt as though they were torn into. We began to wonder what the reason might be for this. “Was God mad at us for something we’d done? Had repentance and forgiveness not taken place?” I knew I was a Believer and had been forgiven, so I did what I always do. I went to scripture for answers.

My favorite verse to quote then, as is whenever anything does not go my way, is Romans 8:28:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV)

The writings of Paul can serve as a great encouragement to anyone who’s suffered pain of any kind. He suffered much in his life, but kept such a great perspective of all of his pain and suffering, because of the radical move of God upon his life. Even in that same chapter of Romans, more encouragement is offered to us when we have a kingdom perspective:

Romans 8:18
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

Romans 8:31
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Although the truth in God’s Word helped us overcome this part of our life, certainly in our flesh we were saddened for a time. Even now we think of those wonderful gifts that we never got to meet. However, our blessed hope and excitement In Christ, is that we’ll certainly meet again, and this time there’ll be no more parting of ways. It’ll put to death any sadness we may have left in these fleshly bodies.

Over the next few months, God made a way when the way seemed unlikely. Colleen gave birth to our son Jack on March 1, 2010, and gave birth to our next son Jayce on February 24, 2011. Talk about a double portion! Whew! Those two little guys proved to be something beautiful in the midst of our pain. God’s not finished using our pain for His glory. As we’ve been able to share our story over the past year or so, we’ve had countless emails and testimonies of those who have been, and are still in the midst, of where we’ve been. Sometimes folks just need to be reminded that they’re not alone in their sufferings.

When you’re on the road as much as we are in Julian Drive, through the years we’ve all become family more than just being a band, or even friends. As I went through this season of life, it ended up taking on a more personal tie with all of us in Julian Drive; not just me or my wife. As I penned the song Beauty, the three of us began sharing our own stories with one another about how God has always been our comfort, even when things didn’t go our way. Having that personal relationship with Christ has always been our blessed hope and comfort, even when our hearts seemed torn to pieces. As we all began arranging the song and each of the guys added their own personal tie to it, it took on a much more intimate and deeper feeling than before.

The message in “Beauty” is true for any believer. So we all decided that this was the theme that made sense for this season of where we are as a society today. Many are suffering the pain of lost jobs, lost homes, loss of hope, families being torn apart, memories of sin that won’t go away, depression, loneliness, and addiction. This CD’s purpose is to remind all Believers everywhere that all pain is temporary and it serves some purpose, though we don’t always immediately see that purpose. Sometimes it’s to pull you back on track, if you’ve gotten off track. Other times it’s simply a means to make you stronger in your walk with Christ. Many times we may never know in this life, but we must trust in what God’s Word says, even when it’s hard to do so. Somehow, some way, someday, there’ll be something beautiful as a result of your affliction…when you believe in Him.

Click the image below to buy Julian Drive’s new cd “Beauty Behind the Pain”.