I think one of the most misunderstood words in the English language is “forgiveness”.  To me, simply put, God forgives us when we, ourselves, rectify the mistake, when we truly heal the problem that necessitated the forgiveness.

If one is truly sorry for a mistake, and I see and feel the sorrow and recognize in the other person the desire to rectify the mistake, then forgiveness comes much easier.  Forgiveness comes when we understand the situation from all angles and view points and see that the person who committed the act truly regrets it and changes in their thought and actions.

I believe God works the same way.  When He, She, It recognizes that we have changed in our thought, stopped the mistake, even turned it around and resolved it, then we are forgiven.  Forgiveness of sin comes in the destruction of sin.

At one point in life I was hurt very deeply by someone I loved.  It hurt so bad that I had to leave her and get away to mend.  I couldn’t let go of the hurt.  Every day it haunted me until I just didn’t want to wake up in the morning.  I would begin to awaken and just pull the pillow over my face and refuse to face the day – and the hurt.

Then I did what I’ve learned to do about such things in my life.  I wrote a song about it.  It’s called Composer Therapy, or “Let’s Really Take A Look At The Issue”.  In this particular instance I needed to look at the situation from all sides, from the point of view of all characters involved.  When I write a song, I have to do just that: know my characters, understand their wants and doings and feelings and the ‘whys’ of their decisions.

I knew that I loved this person very much, and the truth that I came to was that the love was more precious to me than the hurt, but it took the writing of the song to figure that out.

I poured the emotion of the moment into the crafting of the melody.  In this case, the melody came fairly quickly because the feeling was so deeply felt.  In this case also the words came second; the melody first because of the emotion that constantly bubbled to the surface.  The lyrics were harder because of the hesitation to forgive.  I reworked the lyric several times, but just wasn’t getting the moment right.

Then one morning I woke up and lay in bed mulling over my agonies.  It came to me that my love for this person was just more important to me than my pride and that was it.  I was healed.  I decided then and there to try to make the relationship work and though it wasn’t the end of our difficulties, it was the turning point for me in wanting to leave the relationship.  From then on I worked to make it right.

The song was the clear expression of truth that I worked from and went back to whenever I needed bolstering.

Some time later Jenny Burton, Watchfire Music’s wondrous Gospel and R&B artist, recorded the song and gave it it’s definitive recording.  I’ve heard many people sing this song over the years, but Jenny’s version captures it for me with the depth that I lived as I wrote the song.

If you’d like to listen and follow along, click here.

And, of course, if you’d like to purchase this recording of Love Runs Deeper Than Pride sung by Jenny, please visit Watchfire Music or click the link here:

Love Runs Deeper Than Pride
Music and Lyrics by Peter Link

After the fall
Half of me’s gone
It all just shattered
I picked up my pride
And carried it on
But nothing mattered

I’ve known a lot of lonely people in my life
Who did the same as I and lost it all
Oh if I only could
But change the course of my life
And catch the fall
Before it’s too late

I’d open everything wide
I’d show you all that’s inside
Cause love runs deeper than pride

Try me again
I’m not afraid
Cause time can do great things
And if it’s the end
Of all that we’ve made
Then I can face it

I’ve seen a lot of lonely people in my life
Who’ve thrown it all away to keep their pride
Trying to hold on to that last remaining dignity
But still it died
What was to hide?

I’ll open everything wide
I’ll show you all that’s inside
Cause love runs deeper than pride