This is the story of a dream, devastating loss, a season when the song disappeared from my heart, and the restoring grace of Jesus Christ.
As a young boy, I would put on my dad's Southern Gospel quartet records and try to sing all the parts. Being the son of a pastor gave me opportunities to sing special music in the small churches he pastored. Later, when my father entered evangelistic ministry, our whole family traveled and sang at revivals, conventions, camp meetings, and concerts.
Only eight months after Sheila and I were married, we went to my parents' house for my brother Tom's eighteenth birthday. Later that day, a drunk driver traveling over 90 miles per hour ran a red light and struck my parents' car broadside.
At the hospital, we were told that my father had passed away, my mother was not expected to survive the night, and my sister was receiving treatment. Sixteen days later, my mother went home to Heaven.
After the funerals, my younger sister and youngest brother moved in with Sheila and me. We had been married only eight months, and suddenly we were caring for two kids.
After losing my parents, I lost the song in my heart. I lost the joy that a Christian knows when serving Jesus. I was broken—not bitter, but broken. I decided my dream of singing was over.
About a year later, a little church nearby called and asked me to provide music for a revival. I finally gave in and went. The evangelist at that revival happened to be the District Superintendent. Afterward, churches all over the district began calling and asking me to come sing. God had a plan.
The God I serve is a healing Savior. He can pick up the pieces of a broken heart and put them back together again.
After my parents' deaths, our friend Bruce Hawthorn asked me to work for the Christian Brotherhood Newsletter. Bruce eventually put together a quartet from several of us who could sing.
That quartet traveled for several years, often coast to coast, representing Christian Brotherhood and the Barberton Rescue Mission. We sang in restaurants, rest areas, corporate offices, national parks, and anywhere people would listen.
I continued solo and quartet ministry until around 1999, when some of the guys moved away. I kept traveling with Bruce until he retired, and then my solo ministry began in earnest.
For many years, I typically sang around 150 concerts a year. Around that same time, I met Sheldon Mencer and Steve Cheney. We eventually formed Mencer, White & Cheney, recorded two CDs, and still do select dates together.
In 1993, Sheila and I learned we were expecting our first child. After Brittany was born, the doctors told us they believed she had Down syndrome. I was devastated, disappointed, worried, and fearful. I wanted the typical, beautiful, "normal" little girl. God had another plan.
Over the years, Brittany has taught us more than I could ever put into words. She participated in dance, played baseball for more than twenty years, and has overcome challenges that would discourage many people.
Two years later, our son Austin was born. Today, Austin is married to Alana, and they have three children: Zane Michael White, Sawyer Rose White, and their youngest, Oakley Mae White.
My greatest desire is to please Him in everything I do. I want to reach people for Him and encourage Christians to keep on. I want broken people who hear my song to know that Jesus can pick up the broken pieces of their hearts and mold them and make them in His image.
Because of His grace and restoration, I can sing and lift my song to Him.