The deep course of our discussion had to do with Candi's recent history, and her incredibly generous heart.
Suite: Candi, a lot of your songs address love issues. From what I know of your family’s story, and your brother’s passing of Leukemia in 2005, you know a lot about love. I imagine that great loss taught you things about love impossible to learn otherwise. Anything you’d feel comfortable sharing?
Candi: Most of the songs on my record ("Haunted by Eden," read full Suite review here)dealing with love come from two distinct places- my own experiences with Jesus, and those experiences when I’ve watched relationship after relationship crumble because the foundation was never a strong one, usually based on commonality or attraction, which is a volatile foundation at best. Thankfully those songs haven’t been from such a personal place. The love I have been fortunate to experience in my marriage, in my family, and with my friends is born of the tough stuff, built to last because the foundation is forged in Christ.
As for my brother’s journey through sickness and death, I cannot express the immense pain mingled with amazing glory that we experienced. Rick was a champion at loving people the way Christ instructed us, and his sickness was a way for God to highlight that in his life… and bring it out more fully in ours! There is far too much to write in response to a question, but I can say this: One cannot live through something as powerful as this and remain unchanged- it is impossible. Somehow you feel more deeply, your faith becomes more like steel and less like cotton candy, and you love fiercely, understanding that love isn’t about goose bumps… it’s about the soul, which is something worth getting bloody for!
Suite: It seems with the “Glory Revealed” opportunities that the Lord may be as intent as you on keeping Rick’s memory alive. How has that song helped in the healing of your heart? Do you have hope that it will impact others in a similar manner?
Candi: Well, there is an amazing story with this song. I actually wrote it while Rick was in the I.C.U. I remember sitting down in a room with my husband, saying, “I think I want to write a different song for this project”. I had been reading through Isaiah 40 for the past couple of days, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. I knew the Scripture was a prophecy about John the Baptist preparing the way for the Lord, but somehow it felt like it was for my family… we were supposed to tell people to watch, to smooth out the rough places and level out the ground so that all eyes would be able to see God’s glory revealed in our situation, in whatever way He chose. The song came so quickly (granted, I didn’t write the lyrics- it’s straight from Scripture!) that there was no question it was handed to me by God.
David (Nasser) and Mac (Powell) asked me to come over to Mac’s house to woodshed with a few folks on some song ideas for the record. It was a welcomed distraction from hospital world, and they were fully aware of what was going on with Rick. After showing them the song, David was insistent that it was to be on the record, and I think everyone felt like it was just one of those well-timed gifts from the Lord.
My hope for the song (and the entire record) is that people experience Scripture in a refreshing way so that it penetrates to the soul and takes root there. I pray specifically that my song would move people to begin to take up the call of John the Baptist and prepare the way of the Lord in their neighborhoods, cities, countries… in the entire world!
Suite appreciates Candi Pearson-Shelton sharing so openly of a situation so personal, and knows she did it for all the right reasons. Please click here for Part 2 of our chat with the generous Candi Pearson-Shelton.
