Last night I attended a benefit concert in Ann Arbor.  It was a fund raiser to help defray costs incurred by the families of two young people severely injured when their car was rear ended by a semi last week.  (You can read about the crash here.)  Andrew and Alicia are engaged and plan to be married next June.  They are both gifted musicians, and the concert, put together by some of their friends and groups they have played with over the years, was a show of pure love.

They played in a tiny venue that would comfortably hold about 50 people.  I couldn’t count the people there, but the crowd was huge.  Most people stood, packed together, for the entire hour and a half concert.  The windows wouldn’t open and it was hot but no one cared.  Sweat mixed with tears on the faces of the musicians as well as the families.  Lots of us listened with tears in our eyes too.  From the Schubert piano piece, through the cello, the viola, the Argentine guitar, to the Irish band that Andrew preformed with and the folk/jazz group that played songs he had written – it was all beautiful.

I wrote down the chorus of one of Andrew’s songs  because it seemed so relevant at the moment.  The song is a plea to Jesus to answer a young man’s request for a fancy car and a girl:

“I’ve been there for you

When you wanted me to

Please return this one

Jesus don’t run.”

It’s a plea I echo…because if love and music could cure them, these two would be up and dancing in the aisle.  But it’s going to take so much more.  Both have brain injuries, both are mostly unresponsive, both are still in a coma.  We need a pair of miracles here.

The last piece of music played was written by Andrew and is called Lady Lake Michigan.  It talks about missing Lady Lake Michigan’s embrace, the feel of the sand and the water.  The last line, repeated over and over…

“Let me come home.  Let me come home.”

Please God; if you heard the music last night, please let them both come home.