I wrote this song for our friend, Dave Busby, a little while before he died in 1997. Dave was an amazing man! He had polio as a child, walked with a limp and had thin, polio damaged legs. He had liver disease, heart disease and diabetes. But he also had cystic fibrosis and by the time he died from it, he was the oldest living person with cystic fibrosis at 46 years old. But while he lived, no one was more alive! Despite his infirmities, he lifted weights and made his upper arms and torso amazingly buff looking! Dave had a great sense of humor and a great laugh! He had intense eyes, a raspy voice with a southern twang and could speak with so much passion and conviction about His Savior, Jesus. He became a highly in-demand youth speaker who spoke to thousands of youth and adults across the nation for years - all the while battling such physical challenges and fighting to keep his lungs filled with air - something that would have held anyone back - but not Dave!
Part way through his ministry years, Dave received a new understanding of the grace of God and it truly transformed him and his message. His theme became the love and grace of God and he spoke of it with a passion and conviction!
I wrote and recorded this simple version of this song so long ago and it's just sat unheard in the archives. I've never sung it live or recorded it on an album. But the Covid-19 pandemic reminded me of this song and Dave again, as I thought that I could be the one facing my last breath at any time. And so now, this song is as much my heart's cry as it represents what was Dave's.
I remember when I was writing this song and showing it to Sandy, I had one line that she wanted me to change and her change was perfect. I don't remember what I originally wrote, but her contribution to this song is the beautiful lyric that so describes God's grace: "You surprised me when you looked at me and smiled".
As we each await the day when our final breath will come, may this song lift your eyes to the One who first breathed His breath of life into us and will do so again after our death if we have repented of our sin and received His grace through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
I highly recommend you watch a Dave Busby sermon on YouTube or listen to him on his website www.DaveBusby.com. We were so privileged to know Dave and his wife, Lawanna and call them our friends! I'd like you to receive from his great voice too!
