How Great Thou Art

We Can Never Imagine How Great Our God Is

Sandy Patty (Patti) is a Gospel singer, possibly the finest singer ever, IMHO.  I heard her sing "How Great Thou Art" on one of her albums many, many years ago.  Her voice combined with the words of this song touched my heart at that time.

Today in the Lauds - Morning Liturgy of the Hours, which I was praying from iBreviary Pro on my iPod Touch, the hymn was How Great Thou Art.  After I was done my prayer time, I used my iPod once again to look up the YouTube videos of the song, and came across my favourite below.

Sandy Patty had a period in her life, when she was singing for God, but not living for Him, and you can read a bit about it here.  Many Christians, familiar with her music, knew that she had an affair for a number of years, and divorced her husband.  Many also have not found it in their hearts to forgive her, and move past her sinfulness to her own personal redemption, and drawing closer and closer to Our Saviour.

As I read about her, the similarities of many of the aspects of her story to my own, (except among other things for the beautiful voice and talent that she in particular has) touched me once again, as her singing originally had many years ago.

She had this to say in the linked article:

“I was going through a divorce and I was coming to grips with some decisions; choices I had made in my life. I had had an affair and I was going down a not so good path. I really needed to get things right; as right as you can be. Sometimes there are choices that you still feel consequences many years after, but you can always start."

That resonates with me.  The pain that my own sinfulness caused to family and friends, and how it impacted their faith, is the hardest part to come to grips with, and even if you seek and receive God's forgiveness, and move forward from that place, there are always reminders of that time and place, and wounds that need to be healed.

So, the power with which she sings this beautiful song, is the power of Him who is so great, not she who is so weak, nor is the power of Him in my life about me, but about Him.  She loves Him and sings Worship and Praise of Him to Him, because He loved her first, and bled and died for her, so that her sins would be washed away, along with mine, and along with yours.

It is in our weakness that we can see His strength, and above all His love, which never fails to call us to him.

Oh God. How Great You Are.

Sandi Patty's own web site is here.