Miracles Through Music in Tennessee

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!”

2 Corinthians 3:17

Joni and Friends Tennessee wanted to find creative ways to help the combat veterans at our Warrior Getaway express the guilt, shame and regret buried deep within their souls after returning home from war, so we brought in award-winning songwriters from Nashville to help put words to their pain.

Experts in trauma care refer to the intense emotions associated with war as Moral Injury, which is understood to be the leading cause of marital failure, parenting struggles, and suicide for combat veterans.

And the alarming statistic is that 20 United States veterans commit suicide every day.

That’s unacceptable, and that’s why our Joni and Friends teams know that standing idly by and doing nothing to help our disabled veterans and their families is simply not an option.

What’s so unique about our Warrior Getaways is that the special needs families we serve there chose to become disabled in their selfless service on behalf of you and me. That’s right. When our servicemen and women joined the military, they did so in order to protect our freedoms and guarantee our safety. Now, those who came home with the physical or invisible wounds of war (or both)… Well, they carry that cross for us.

All too often, our wounded veterans suppress their feelings as a means of coping with war. It can be extremely difficult for them to express their deepest emotions to anyone – even their spouse. Their struggles with Post Traumatic Stress can be overwhelming and debilitating.

But “songwriting opened up a way to talk without talking,” explained one of the combat veterans at the Warrior Getaway. He and the other veterans were able to process through their darkness in a safe and healing – and completely Christ-centered – setting.

Eyes welled up with tears as these heroes began expressing the hurt and heartache that they had never shared before.

“Songwriting was like opening up a gate to express myself,” shared an Army veteran.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!” 2 Corinthians 3:17

After the sessions were completed, the songs were performed for the Warriors and their families. It was wonderful seeing smiles and tears as spouses and children proudly listened to their fathers’ heroic stories.

One of the songs written at the Warrior Getaway is called “God and You.” Be inspired by its lyrics:

I wake sometimes in the dead of night.
Cold wet sweat cause I'm in my mind. Flashing back to another time.
Then I realize you're by my side.
I know sometimes it's hard to see. What it is that's going on inside me.
But no matter how hard it might get.
I know I'll make it through. As long as I have God and you.
As long as I have God and you.
You both know somedays what it takes. To love someone like me that way.
And even when I get in a bad place.
You both show me your saving grace. When I don't know what to say.
I just hit my knees and pray.

God used songwriting to open up our veterans’ hearts to healing and the Gospel. The songs that they created will be eternal reminders of their life-changing experience at Warrior Getaway, giving them hope to face the daily hardships of war related Post Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injuries.

Our military men and women sacrificed everything for us, and that’s exactly why Joni and Friends is dedicated to serving them and their families. The darkness and depression that follows our veterans home from combat begs for the light of the Gospel, and at our Warrior Getaways, the Good News of Jesus flows as freely as the healing tears coming from our veterans, their spouses and their children.