Here is another treasure I found of us four children on Easter Sunday, 1962. (Yes, you could say I was the runt of the litter!)  This would have been exactly one month before my mother passed away.  I find the broken picket fence in the background quite telling. For me, it symbolizes the brokenness, shattered dreams, and deep holes/gaps that a family experiences after the loss of a parent, especially a mother.  It is not only devastatingly huge, but it is also forever.   This great loss in my life has had much to do with my spiritual, emotional, and musical journey. 

            
The good news is that God is a great Redeemer!  Even though neither of my parents lived to see their grandchildren, they have been blessed with seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, and one on the way!  (update: as of  12/2017 make that eight with 3 on the way)!.  Some of our family members gathered at the farm over Easter weekend to celebrate the youngest great-grandchild's first birthday!

My mother, quite the gardener, planted these and many more azaleas around the yard more than 65 years ago.  They are still beautiful today! Here is a brief video clip of our time together…same porch…same azaleas…so many years later.
                          Truly a picture of God’s Amazing Grace!

​King David wrote that the one thing he wanted more than anything else in this world was to dwell in God’s presence all the days of his life and to gaze upon His beauty.   All throughout Psalm 27, David recounts many things he experienced in God’s presence:  freedom from fear, safety, hope, courage, and joy, to name a few.

I wrote the song “Your Presence” out of a similar yearning that David expressed in this Psalm. I have found that no matter what I am feeling or experiencing in life, if I get quiet in God’s presence and listen for His voice, I will start to see things from His perspective and it changes mine. 
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No matter the situation, seeing it from God's perspective and experiencing His presence in the midst of it, brings change in our hearts, our attitudes, our physical conditions and our circumstances. God's presence changes everything.
 
Lyrics to "Your Presence" by Marlowe Carruth

Your presence Lord, is the most important thing.
Your heartbeat Lord, is the song I want to sing.
To see Your face, as I look into Your gaze,
To hear Your voice, as I rest in Your embrace.
 
Your presence Lord, is the most important thing.
Your heartbeat Lord, is the love I want to bring.
Your beauty Lord, I want others to behold.
Your goodness Lord, I don’t want to go untold.
 
God, You are good, and Your presence is real.
God, You are good, and Your presence will heal.
 
Your presence Lord, is the most important thing.
Your presence Lord, changes everything.
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