{"id":45050,"date":"2019-05-16T08:15:05","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T12:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/?p=45050"},"modified":"2020-01-17T13:21:07","modified_gmt":"2020-01-17T18:21:07","slug":"braving-the-storms-of-life-an-interview-with-randy-travis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/braving-the-storms-of-life-an-interview-with-randy-travis\/","title":{"rendered":"Braving the Storms of Life: An Interview with Randy Travis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Randy<\/a>From a working-class background in North Carolina to being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Randy Travis has sold more than 25 million albums in both country and gospel music. This seemingly charmed life began a downward spiral in 2009: his marriage dissolved, he discovered that his finances had unraveled, and his struggles with anger led to alcohol abuse, public embarrassment, and even police arrest in 2012. Then, just as he was putting his life back together, Randy suffered a devastating viral cardiomyopathy that led to a massive stroke which he was not expected to survive.<\/p>\n

Bible Gateway interviewed Randy Travis<\/a> (@randytravis<\/a>) about his book, Forever and Ever, Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith, and Braving the Storms of Life<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Thomas Nelson, 2019).<\/p>\n

\"Buy<\/a><\/p>\n

Please explain what the title means.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Randy Travis:<\/strong> The song and the book are about unconditional love. The first time I heard the song, \u201cForever and Ever, Amen,\u201d I knew it had potential to touch people. It was a song celebrating love and commitment and marital fidelity through the years\u2014a major departure from country music staples that touted \u201clyin,\u2019 cheatin,\u2019 and tears in your beer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everywhere we went, we heard heartwarming stories of what the song had meant to someone.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThat song reminded me so much of my grandparents, who have been married forever. So we played it at their fiftieth anniversary,\u201d a young woman said. \u201cAnd Grandma and Grandpa danced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the kind of relationship we want to have in our marriage,\u201d a goo-goo-eyed engaged couple said. \u201cWhere we keep on loving each other no matter what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were headed for divorce,\u201d one man admitted. \u201cMy wife and I sat down at the kitchen table and listened one more time to \u2018Forever and Ever, Amen.\u2019 We both started to cry, and we realized we were throwing away something truly precious. Then we went to see the lawyers and tore up the divorce papers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Untold numbers of middle-aged couples smiled, I was told, every time the song played, as they looked adoringly at each other and declared their renewed commitment to each other, as they sang along to \u201cI\u2019m gonna love you forever and ever. Forever and ever, amen.\u201d<\/p>\n