But how does one seek solace in a time like this? Many people will turn to the church (Many will also turn away from God and the church at a time like this, but I'm going to focus on the positive here). Many Christians will turn to the music they listen to. Now, if you're a fan of mainstream music, you'll be surprised how little you will hear on the radio to offer you comfort in a tragic time. You will hear the radio PSA's asking you to donate to the relief efforts, but you're not going to hear a song that speaks to you and offers you a sense of comfort right now.
However, if you turn to the Christian realm, you may be even more surprised how quickly comfort can be found. Two songs are already hitting radio to offer comfort at the current time, and the two songs were written long before Katrina was even a thought, a testament to God working in these artists' music. Third Day was set to release Cry Out To Jesus, the lead single from the November 1 release Wherever You Are, on September 16th. But, when the effect of Katrina had been felt, it seemed only right for them to rush this single to radio. As Mac Powell says on thirdday.com, he hopes that the track can "...offer hope to hurting people." Now the band has made the song available for free download on their site, which, to me, offers a statement of, "We're not trying to make a buck off of tragedy. We just really want people to find comfort in this song like we believe they can." And, after hearing it myself, it truly does offer some powerful comfort.
Casting Crowns has also been lighting up radio lately. Their lead single and title track from the latest disc, Lifesong, has been out for about a month or two and has been doing quite well on the charts. But it is the second track on the disc that is now making waves. Praise You In This Storm has been popping up on radio outlets in the past week or so. And this track, to me, seems almost a bit more fitting than the Third Day track. Don't get me wrong, the Third Day track is going to be huge and was clearly God-inspired for a time such as this...but it would have been huge with or without Katrina. Praise You In This Storm, on the other hand...yeah, it probably would've hit radio eventually and yeah, it would've been a pretty big hit like all Casting Crowns singles have been. But the meaning behind the metaphor in the song would never have gotten through to people nearly as much as it can and will after this tragedy. It is an amazing track that will break a lot of people down to tears, guaranteed.
These are just two of the tracks that you'll be hearing in the coming weeks. One year from now, I would bet that the mainstream will finally catch up and release a tribute track for the one-year anniversary. But that's just it...after one year, most of the grieving has been done. The return to normalcy will have begun. It'll be too late. The Christian realm, on the other hand, will have been helping people grieve and offer comfort and hope in the times when it was needed most. And when we look back on that one year from now, I believe it will make us smile that we had something that was readily available to us to offer a sense of hope when all hope seemed lost.