Mom wanted only one thing for her birthday. “Can you find me another copy of this song?” she asked, and handed me a worn out cassette tape. I knew exactly what was recorded on it: “My Redeemer.” I heard the song played and replayed at least a thousand times growing up. After 37 years of wear and tear, the wrinkled ribbon barely played the tune. I promised her I would find a replacement. I didn’t know how difficult it would be.
“My Redeemer” had become Mom’s favorite song after my younger brother Tim was killed by a drunk driver in 1973. As strong as Mom had been—a Christian woman, the wife of a truck driver, raising three boys in rural Red Lion, Pennsylvania—Tim’s death shook her faith.
The only thing that helped steady it was the soulful sound of “My Redeemer” playing on the local radio station. We recorded it on a cassette tape so she could listen to it any time she wanted. We only knew the title—neither of us had a clue as to who was the soloist.
These days, I figured it would be easy to find out. I went home and searched the internet. Several songs with that title popped up. I played every sample I could find, but none of them were the one Mom loved. After a few additional searches, I got frustrated. If the almighty internet couldn’t find it, what hope did I have?
Mom’s birthday drew near and I wasn’t any closer to solving the mystery. Then one day, I was driving home, listening to our local Christian radio station, WDAC in Lancaster. A familiar tune came on. “My Redeemer!” As soon as I could, I phoned the station. The soloist was Alan Parks. I typed his name into Google and found his home number in South Carolina. Minutes later, I was telling him how much his recording meant to Mom. He offered to ship two CDs out to me personally. I gave him my address.
“Red Lion, Pennsylvania?” he said. “Do you know the Logans?”
“They’re our neighbors!”
“I’ve been friends with them for over 25 years,” Alan said. “They’ll be at my concert at York Gospel Chapel on April 17th. Would you and your mom come too?”
We sure would. Mom was thrilled to hear Alan sing a special dedication of “My Redeemer” to her, live in concert—on the evening of her 87th birthday.
