Church Bells Ringing True

Church Bells by Carrie Underwood rings true for many

Someone sent me a link to Carrie Underwood’s Church Bells music video (below) when it came out. I watched a large crowd with an incredible response. Then I learned the lyrics and I watched the song climb the charts to number one. I wondered aloud whether so many people love a song about a woman killing her abuser because the story hit home in some way.

“Jenny slipped something in his Tennessee whiskey
No law man was ever gonna find
And how he died is still a mystery
But he hit a woman for the very last time”

I felt some connection too even though my story is not the same. No diamonds, not even an engagement ring. And I never dreamed our story would end like Jenny’s either. But there were moments I wondered how we’d survive.

Just listen to the church bells and it will be all right

“Fold your hands and close your eyes. Yeah, it’s all gonna be alright. Just listen to the church bells ringing, ringing.”

The church bells are symbolic in the song of course. Church is where you have weddings (verse 1) and funerals (verse 3), and where you can go for help (verse 2). But in the song, it didn’t seem like the church helped much. Else why would Jenny need to kill him in verse 3?

Haunting Church Bells

Still, verse 2 is probably where most of us have been sometime. “Sitting in the back pew praying…” Hurting privately. It’s not like we can stand up and tell everyone.

Why not?

Because they might say it’s no big deal. When others are hurting, some insist it’s just “all gonna be alright.” They assume you need to either try harder or accept the hardship. Whichever extreme, it’s somehow our fault either way. We’ve heard all the reasons a person can be blamed.

There’s something haunting about church bells or music just continuing when everyone thinks things are fine, but they’re not. “Fold your hands and close your eyes” can help for a while, but there’s still a mess to work through to work on healing.

Urgent news on the legal case

Last week I got a voicemail from our lawyer’s office. It was to tell me that if I cannot pay up the account again, the hearing will be postponed. This is the 2^nd half of the hearing in June that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.

The amount is over $6,000. I think there’s barely $600 in the Go Fund Me Legal Aid account right now. Every penny goes to legal expenses. The bookkeeper gave me until this week. We are doing everything we can. Please donate if you are able. And please share my uncle’s Go Fund Me page link by email or social media. There are so many of us that it shouldn’t be impossible. Also, please pray for Roo.

And if you’re hurting privately, don’t give up on finding someone to listen. Some things will not just be all right on their own.

Recommended reading

• After Fear and Failure, Freedom
• Chronic Rheumatoid Arthritis, Perspective, & the Church
• The Path of Mercy in Medicine: A Tale of Two Doctors