the year of the boys

I will always remember 2006 as the 'year of the boys'.

Our church and town experienced two back-to-back tragedies this time last year. In one situation, a father who was bitter over his wife seeking a separation tried to get revenge on her by killing himself and their two young sons. Exactly one week later, a teenage boy who played guitar in our youth band, was killed in a car accident with another boy from our town.

TrueNorth Church was rocked by these tragedies due to the families involved and our pastor conducting funerals for four boys in less than two weeks.

Those were dark days. And trying to see some light in all that darkness was not easy. The song “Marvelous Light” took on a whole new meaning for me. And I get a big lump in my throat every time the band plays it at church. I can see those boys running toward the marvelous light, lifting their hands and spinning around.

I once was fatherless

A stranger with no hope
Your kindness wakened me
Awakened me, from my sleep.

Your love it beckons deeply
A call to come and die.
By grace now I will come
And take this life, take your life.

Sin has lost it's power
death has lost it's sting.
From the grave you've risen
VICTORIOUSLY!

Into marvelous light I'm running
Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth
You are the life, you are the way

My dead heart now is beating
My deepest stains now clean.
Your breath fills up my lungs.
Now I'm free. Now I'm free!

Lift my hands and spin around
See the light that I have found.
Oh the marvelous light
Marvelous light