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Gary Crawford In Song

In the fall of 2006, my wife and I attended the Blackwood Brothers Quartet Gospel sing with Jimmy Blackwood in Weeping Water, Nebraska.

The old quartet fires stirred deep inside.

A week later, we heard the Blackwoods were scheduled to sing in Council Bluffs, Iowa. We arrived at the concert only to find a different Blackwood group, The Blackwood Gospel Quartet with Mark Blackwood. During the concert, Mark asked for requests. I waved my hand and asked for ‘I’m Gonna See Heaven'. You could see Mark’s mouth move while his brain tried to recapture the song. The other three men shook their heads—they couldn’t pull out the tune.

The song just rolled out of me. I started to sing like thirty years before. When the quartet heard the tune, they recalled the words and walked closer, one pushed a mic in my face and before I knew it, Mark pulled me up front to finish out the peppy number with the group. The audience clapped and whistled. Later several from the audience said we sang so well together they thought we'd staged the song.

Nope. Well, let’s say the quartet and I did not plan it—but we never know what the Lord has in mind.

All I know is that after that night, the desire to sing haunted me. It had been thirty years since I'd traveled with quartets, but the songs rang in my heart and in my head.

The next month I came down with pneumonia. For eight weeks, I suffered. When the doctor released me to return to work, I hurt my back and ended up in physical therapy. 

While I suffered at the bottom physically my wife, the lionhearted Kat I married 48 years ago, that woman I call ’MOOK’, propped her arm on the chess table and looked deep into my eyes.

“Do you think God is reminding me that He is in charge and no matter whether you work or not, we will make it?” She paused long enough for me to digest the thought and then added said, “Or, do you think God has you down at the bottom to get your attention. Maybe he’s saying, ‘Are you ready to listen to me yet?’”

Well, like many other times in our married life, she didn’t expect a reply.

A few days later I felt the Lord calling me back into music ministry. Unlike the world, God doesn’t judge our age or our physical frame. He used lots of old duffers in the Old Testament, why not me.

The day I said, “Mook, if you’ll be my manager I’ll sing again,” she joined me in prayer for a piano player. God didn’t send one, he sent two pianists—a confirmation that God had a mission for me.

A week later, that Mook of mine dashed in the door to say, “Well, Mr. Singer, are you ready? I’ve signed you up to open for the Spoken 4 Quartet featuring Tommy Fairchild, sing for Sunday morning services and open the concert for the Blackwood Brother’s Quartet.

With God as my manager and Mook as my promoter, I’m set. It has taken me awhile to heal from PMP, but in the first hospital when life looked the most hopeless, I said, “Mook, no matter what happens, whether I live or die, my prayer is that God be glorified.”

I do believe God has built the fire in this healed body that I might share how He heals, loves, forgives and continues to amaze me. Visit our schedule. Check out our endorsements and the contact page to schedule a concert or Sunday service.

Thank you for stopping by. Sign the guest book and be sure and come again, you never know what might happen with Mook in my corner.

Gary

Musician and Humorist

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