My husband, Vaughn, passed away unexpectedly on October 25, 2017. We had been married for 48 years. Our two sons and their families and I miss him so very much.

After he passed away and all my family returned home, I was working in the kitchen and realized for the first time I could listen to my music, the Songs of Zion, any time and as loud as I wanted. Previously, sounds caused Vaughn to have severe tremors, so I tried to be as quiet as possible. I ran to the stereo and turned on the Songs of Zion — loud!

The first words sung were, “Jesus put His arms around me, brought me through a valley deep, to a mountain high and holy…” (No. 194, “Holy, Holy, Holy”) I felt like Jesus had His arms around me as the song played. I felt such love, compassion, and peace enter into my body, heart, and soul. My body trembled, and I cried with the joy and peace and love that came into me. This lasted approximately 20 minutes.

I found out that a day or two prior to this, a sister in the church had a vision in which she saw Jesus hugging me.

I went on with my life, trying to attend to the business that accompanies the death of a loved one, as well as keeping up with all the necessary house and yard work. In February 2018, Sister Arlene Buffington, my aunt, received a new song called “He Will Hide Me In His Pavilion” (#230), which encouraged me greatly. I decided to print the words and frame it, setting it on the coffee table to serve as a reminder of God’s love and promise. After the music was complete, I played it over and over on the piano every day. It brought me such joy, peace, and love from God.

One day, one of my daughters-in-law sent a man to help me with my flower beds. Marcus, a 42-year-old ex-boxer, came with a crew of three. I was pruning trees in the yard as they worked. After some time passed, I decided to go indoors to cool off and bake some brownies for them. While waiting on the brownies, I played “He Will Hide Me In His Pavilion” over and over. Marcus came to the door with a couple of questions, so I invited him in to cool off while I took the brownies out of the oven.

He asked me about the frame of the “poem.” I explained that it was a song that God had given Aunt Arlene and how God gives her the songs. He asked if that was the song that I had been playing, and I replied, “Yes.” He said that it was so beautiful. I asked him if he’d like me to read the words to him, and he replied, “Yes!”

I noticed that he had tears streaming down his face as I read. When I finished, he was unable to speak for a short time and then asked if he could hold it and read it himself. I handed it to him, and he could barely read for the tears flowing down his cheeks. When he was able to speak, he asked if I could make him a copy of the song’s words and frame it for him. I agreed to, and when I handed it to him the next day, he cried and cried and thanked me.

The heat and humidity were so great that I decided to take a few days off from working in the yard. On the third day, there was a knock on the door. It was my 17-year-old neighbor, Estefan. He came to check on me since he hadn’t seen me outside for a few days. I replied that I was just taking a short break from the yard work and invited him to sit down and visit. As he sat, he spied the frame with the song in it. So, I told him the same things that I had told Marcus and asked if he would like me to read the words to him.

Like with Marcus, I saw tears streaming down Estefan’s face. When I finished reading, he also asked if he could hold it and read it for himself. The tears flooded his eyes and face as he read. He could not speak for a while. I asked him if he would like me to play it on the piano for him, which brought more tears.

When he was able to speak, he asked if he could have a copy of the words. I told him that I had accidentally printed two extra copies and asked if he wanted to give one to his parents. He happily took them and told me that he wanted to keep the song with him wherever he goes and, “This song needs to go out to the world! The world needs these words!” He thanked me through his tears, hugged me, and told me that he knows that God walks with me.

I found it amazing that this song affected the older man and the younger man in the same way with nearly identical words and reactions. God’s work is truly amazing and a blessing to see!

This Father’s Day came … the first one since Vaughn passed away. I turned on my music to give me comfort. The song that played was No. 79 “My Lord Can”

“…And He can heal my broken heart again…”

God has been so loving, compassionate, kind, and merciful to me and my family. He speaks to me through His songs, and they comfort me. My mantra has become “…So I will thank Him now and forever, my songs of praise will never stop.”

Special thanks to Brother Rich Nath for helping with this testimony.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.