A few days after our youngest son, Park, had just turned 7, strep throat triggered an autoimmune illness that wreaked havoc on him. We were facing so much uncertainty, and I had been instructed that I needed to control things and to navigate and encourage his body to heal. During our long drive to a specialist downtown, I was running through my fears, doubts, and questions for the doctor when I heard Park’s little voice singing a song that offered words that we both so desperately needed to hear.
I’ve had plans shattered and broke. Things I have hoped in, fall through my hands.
You have plans to redeem and restore me, You’re behind and before me,
Oh, help me believe. God You don’t need me but somehow You want me,
Oh how You love me, somehow that frees me,
to take my hands off of my life and the way it should go.
Oh, God You don’t need me, but somehow You want me.
Oh how you love me, somehow that frees me,
to open my hands up, and give You control. Oh, I give You control.
The King of Heaven wants me, so this world has lost its grip on me.
The song, Control, by Tenth Avenue North, was sung over and over by that little boy. It is now like an Ebenezer stone for us: a powerful reminder of God’s faithfulness and protection when the world was too much, but God reminded us that during it all, we could rest in His love.
Mike Donehey, the lead singer of Tenth Avenue North, has also seen his fair share of the unexpected. As his story goes, “Following a potentially fatal car crash as a teen, Mike learned to play the guitar while still in bed recovering from his injuries. Learning the guitar quickly gave birth to songwriting, and that songwriting soon led to the formation of a band.” The band, Tenth Avenue North, became one of the most loved and successful groups in Christian music. Mike has written best-selling books on grace and has a podcast encouraging us to look for the joy of God in unexpected places as well.
As Mike says, “The unexpected has a way of disrupting our lives in ways we might not have ever chosen.” For Mike, learning to embrace the unexpected has been the very thing that continues to bring encouraging and soul-healing art.
God is so creative in the ways He can show us love. Music is one of those creative gifts. It has a powerful propensity to ignite hope, so we are elated that Mike Donehey and his band will be at St. Luke’s on February 23 during this Lenten season as we turn our eyes to the King of Heaven who wants us.
Kelly Judd, Director of The Grove – Family and Couples Ministry
