A Gift From John Denver

The day John Denver died in the crash of his experimental airplane, I cried for the loss of an American poet who touched so many of us. I cried remembering the times I had driven down the highway singing his songs at the top of my voice. Like all of us, he wasn’t perfect. He was still finding his way. He wrote and sang words that healed and supported many of us as we found our way. I am grateful for the lessons he taught us from both his wise and not so wise actions.

That night I saw his first wife, Annie, interviewed. She said John was not afraid to die. She said he was having a good day when it happened. And he was doing something he loved with a passion. I was reminded of his song that supported and helped me heal during a time when I too was trying to find my way. One line kept coming to me……..”My life is worth the living…….I don’t need to see the end.” How I treasure those words. And I believe he did, too.

 Over 30 years ago I was experiencing a time of loss and a fear of an unknown future. I was trying desperately to control my life and surroundings. A wise teacher gave me a song to remind me of my greatest challenge and most important lesson. The song was John Denver’s Sweet Surrender. My first reaction was…”I don’t want to surrender….surrender is a dirty word”. (Can you tell I grew up watching world war II movies?) Finally, I accepted the song . Over and over I listened to the words. A friend even embroidered the words and framed them to hang in my office. They still hang there. The realization of their importance started to mobilize me. I started to trust myself and most of all to trust that God had a better plan for me than I could ever imagine. John Denver’s words played a role in easing me through confusion. I treasure this gift he never knew he gave. Here are the words............

John Denver died. These words will never die!

It seems the words also have a special meaning in America following terrorist attacks like September 11, 2001. We don’t know what the future is holding in store. We do know there’s a spirit that guides us and life in America is worth the living, we don’t have to see the end. We can surrender to the ebb and flow of life……...we don’t have to surrender to terrorist.