By Ashlie Miller

By now, you have heard of many creative ways to support Hurricane Helene victims in our state. Many artists have joined together to hold concerts or create an album to raise money for them. The devastation has inspired musicians and singers to write songs based on their sorrow and care for a place they call “home.” No doubt those who have or had a home in that tragically hit area have written the most touching songs.

I think the song that has touched me most is from a video shared on social media of an anonymous man in the Asheville area dressed in a dingy T-shirt, sweatpants and a pair of slides covering his feet. After a relief worker brings the residents immediate aid, one recipient regrets that he cannot offer something to express his gratitude. Then he remembers what he does have — a gift of song. Grabbing his fiddle, he breaks into melody — perhaps a mixture of lament and overwhelming gratitude.

Thanks to autotuning and big collaborations with well-known writers, almost anyone can write or play a good song. The music from the heart, often a hurt heart, is most meaningful. This is not a new thing. One can open 1-2 Samuel in the Bible and read selected chapters in the Psalms to see the stories that prompted the greatest songwriter (King David) to write some of the most celebrated and sung songs. As I read the Psalms, I often skip past the chapter’s introduction (or song) to get straight to the poetry, but there is so much life in the simple notations (if your Bible has them). I am amazed at how many psalms David wrote while escaping the hand of Saul or other enemies, trapped in a cave or even struggling with his own sinfulness.

David often uses his personal stories of God’s goodness in tragedy to set a pattern of praise that others can follow to write songs of gratitude and praise. It reminds me of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 where Paul says that because of God’s great love and comfort for us as believers in our afflictions, we are able to comfort others in any affliction — even messy, catastrophic ones.

We are already witnessing this in so much of our Appalachia family — stories (and songs) of grace and courage, sadness and woe, and hope and rebuilding. Many of them are still waiting to hear the music.

Do you have a song birthed from a storm in your life? It may be time to share it with someone currently in a storm or just coming out of one (literally or figuratively). Help them to find their song through your encouragement, even if you survived a very different storm.

Ashlie Miller and her family reside in Concord but have many friends and family in western NC. Our prayers and support are for them now and down the road.