I did a lot of driving today, and when I’m on the road for a while, I’ve got plenty of options for what to listen to. I can go with podcasts, music, Audible books, talk shows, or the voices in my head. Today, I went with gospel music.

I love gospel music—it’s way better than the Catholic music we have at church. Well, maybe not better, just different, but anyway, that’s what I picked today. No matter what Christian denomination you affiliate with, you can always appreciate the message of a good gospel song.

One thing I find interesting about gospel music is that many recordings are made by country artists. For example, today I was listening to George Jones, who’s my favorite country singer. I’ve got this Spotify playlist with about 50 gospel songs he’s done, and honestly, I don’t even know how many he recorded in total. What’s funny is, if you know anything about George Jones, he’s not exactly the first person you’d think of when it comes to gospel music and being a devout Christian. He had a reputation for being a pretty hard partier—drinking, living wild, doing a lot of the same stuff I’ve done, to be honest. Definitely not the type you’d picture singing in church. But hey, no judgment, right?

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;  (Luke 6:37, RSV2CE)

I’ve always loved his voice, and when he sings gospel, you can tell he really believes in what he’s singing. Even if he didn’t always live by what he learned or what you might expect from someone recording gospel music, it doesn’t matter. You can feel that he puts his heart into it, and that’s what makes it so good.

Most of the time, I’m not really listening to what’s on the radio; I just hear it as noise. Yesterday I was actually listening. One of the songs was “Peace in the Valley,” written in 1937 by Thomas A. Dorsey. It was during the trying times before World War Two.

As I was listening, I thought about both George Jones and my life and how this song is, not so much a cry for help but a hope that life will change. All our troubles will be over, no problems, no conflicts.

I am tired and weary but I must toil on
Till the Lord come to call me away
Where the morning is bright and the Lamb is the light
And the night is fair as the day.

No headaches or heartaches or misunderstands
No confusion or trouble won’t be
No frowns to defile, just a big endless smile
There’ll be peace and contentment for me.

Just like the first verse of the hymn, I am tired and weary, but I can’t give up; I must keep going until Jesus calls me home. And when that happens, there will be peace in the valley. But there won’t just be peace for me, but for everyone who, on the day of judgement, is called to be with God in Heaven.

“Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.” (Isaiah 11:6, NABRE)

This also sums up Advent, the season we have just been through, where we are reminded of the second coming of Jesus and the new world will be made. For those of us who are called, and I hope I’m one, there will be peace in the valley for all of us.