• New Song Out on iTunes – “To Me”

    September 21, 2010 - Comments (22)

    “To Me”

    We’re so excited that we’ve got another new song out on iTunes today! This is called “To Me” – and I thought I’d share my thoughts as well as the actual story that inspired it!

     

    “To Me” was one of the first songs written in the cabin. Michelle sent her story to me and I’ll never forget the first sentence she wrote. “Have you ever felt the pain of middle school?” Immediately, Michelle’s story about her son’s struggles with a learning disability and longing for acceptance from the other kids in school resonated with me. As I read her story, pictures of my own middle school years came to mind, and I was surprised to find how much I remembered of being picked on in school because of my weight. I remember how cruel kids in school can be, and my heart broke for Michelle’s son who was dealing with the same thing. I found myself writing this song from the perspective of Michelle, the parent of a child who is getting a first taste of how cold this world can be. I wanted the song to say, “hey, don’t worry about them, they don’t know the you that I do. They just don’t see what I see. This is who you are to me.” It is hard to imagine, but as much as Michelle loves her son, and I love my two little girls, God loves each of his children that much more.

     

    THE STORY

    Michelle
    Michigan

     

    Have you ever felt the pain of middle school? I have through my son Connor.

    There are many things most people do not know about him :

    ~ That he struggles to learn on a daily basis, that he thinks of himself as stupid. However, he works harder then anyone I know.

    ~ He is just looking for a friend that will accept him as he is someone to hang with and do things with on the weekends. Doesn’t everyone deserve a “true” friend?

    ~ The pain of wanting a “girlfriend” so bad that you let those “popular girls” say mean things to him on facebook. It says he has 255 friends ~ friends that would not even say “hi” back when he passes them in the hallway at school. Nevertheless, he is proud of all those so called friends.

    However, you see, he is my inspiration because through all the painful moments he still has such empathy for people and can forgive in a heartbeat.

    I always tell him that God has something special waiting for him because of all the struggles he has been through since his birth.

    I want him to tell me how he can get up each morning and still put a smile on his face and be positive when he has so many negative things going on around him each day? He’s learned it a choice!

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    • 22 comments

    1. 1. Brent commented:

      Tue 21/9/10, 12:37 pm

      Wow, thanks Matthew! …and thanks Michelle for that story and inspiration for Matthew. That song is fantastic and just felt God moving through it as tears roll down my cheek! God is great! Thanks Matthew and praise God for His words through you and your music!

    2. 2. Timothy Blythe commented:

      Tue 21/9/10, 3:00 pm

      Wow, that is a great song Matthew! It has really inspired me and I think that God loves this song as much as I do! I went to the Unity Christian Festival to get an autograph from you and I thought that it was awesome and like I said ” You are my favorite singer”! Sorry you don’t like the Detroit Tigers on my shirt, it is my favorite baseball team!

    3. 3. Lauren commented:

      Wed 22/9/10, 7:59 am

      I’m in middle school and I know how it feels. Please make sure to always encourage the kids around you. We never think that we will ever be good enough. I am so glad that’s I’ve found God and I know my place in him. He is everything.

    4. 4. Susan commented:

      Wed 22/9/10, 8:08 am

      WOW – did this just stir up my own feelings!!! Thank You Matthew for reminding us how precious life is and that we must assure we serve with a Heart like Jesus!!!

      Michelle’s story could be told countless times in varying stages of life and yet when you share it through the eyes of a child……POW….right to the heart! MIddle School memories are what most people have in life – thank goodness God did not hold against me all of the mean things I did or were done to me!!!

      Blessings on this album and your ministry!!!

    5. 5. Sarah commented:

      Wed 22/9/10, 8:09 am

      This song is amazing. It really hit me personally. I grew up in a Military family and we moved every 2-3 years. So growing up I never had any friends. Going to a new school was always scary for me. I was always the quiet one in school (which you’d never know if you knew me outside of school). I tried to stay out of trouble and out of site, because I was always picked on in school. I was shoved and locked in lockers and verbally insulted. The fact that I was in some special education classes flamed the fires of their insults. Riding the bus was always hard for me, because the teasing followed me until I got home. Even to the point were I was held down and had LOSER written across my forehead in a purple sharpie. I would cry and tell my mom I hated school. Finally after someone offered me drugs in middle school and I turned them in, my mom saw the pain that I was going through. She saw her daughter have to face this situation alone; without friends. She pulled me out and home schooled me. I’m almost 26 now and have forgiven all the childish things that have happened in school. Thank you Matthew for writing a song that is so simple, but reaches to the core…..

    6. 6. Jennifer Eckert commented:

      Wed 22/9/10, 8:58 am

      That is so powerful. Middle school is probably the hardest for most people. Those were my hardest years as a kid. May it reach many who have struggled through life being teased/tormented or are the parents of someone who is/was in that state.

    7. 7. betty merchen commented:

      Wed 22/9/10, 9:40 am

      Connor’s story is my story. No one can understand the effects of this heartbreak unless they have experienced it themselves. And those effects can last a lifetime! I am 50 years old now, and still struggling with the aftermath of the pain of my childhood. Matthew, the gift you have for putting real life into words and carrying it to the world is phenomenal. God is using you in powerful ways. My prayer is for one person to hear you and not suffer the lifelong pain that follows when someone is made to feel rejected and unwanted. You have touched me deeply, not only with this particular song, but with many of your songs. Thank you so much for reaching out. God is working on changing my life and he has used your gift as a powerful part of all that. I can never say “Thank you!” enough.

    8. 8. Joni Harrel commented:

      Wed 22/9/10, 9:46 am

      Wow! Thank you Matthew and Michele- what a great song for our youth. I taught at the high school level for four years and was deeply saddened by the cruelty I witnessed on a regular basis. I cannot tell you how many students would come to me just to talk to someone about what they were going through. I shared my own story with them about losing my firstborn son at the age of 23 to the choking game. An activity that our children will turn to in order to relieve the immense amount of pressure of growing up today. My faith was strengthened through that loss and I am still here to share with those that struggle on a daily basis that this is nothing…no one tells you who you are, and no one loves you more than our Father…our rewards are not as far away as we think…this life is a journey with much pain, but what comes next is indescribable…

    9. 9. Sherry Harrelson commented:

      Wed 22/9/10, 11:29 am

      What an inspiring story!! Michelle my heart goes out to you and Connor. I see this so many times in school’s…even in daycare centers. It is so sad to watch other kids be mean. I carried a little girl to the beach one day with me and my son (both of them were 4 years old at the time). We were going to play “Ring around the Rosy”. She wouldn’t hold my son’s hand to play…only mine. I politely said “We have to hold everyone’s hand’s or anyone that doesn’t will have to stand to the side.” She still wouldn’t. So, I let her stand to the side while William and I played. A few second’s later she came over and reached out her hand for William. I told them how proud I was of both of them and then we played. William is a lot like Conner, he has learning disabilities and struggle’s also with everything he does even to the fact of holding a toothbrush. Please keep encouraging Connor!!! Maybe someone will send a copy of this song to the school and it will help other’s see through the eye’s of a middle schooler. God bless.

    10. 10. PattyBeigay commented:

      Wed 22/9/10, 1:26 pm

      mattew,
      Thank you for the song~ and thank Michelle how she inspired you to write the song because you too could relate! WOW! How awesome that is to share another’s pain and help them through it! God bless you ! I too can realte through my school days!!!!
      His abiding love touches PattyBeigay

    11. 11. Vickie commented:

      Wed 22/9/10, 4:57 pm

      I am very excited to hear this song. I would like to first thank God for giving me the strenght to make it through my Jr. high school years. Next Michelle for loving her son enough to help him through it, and sending the story to Matthew. Last but not least Matthew for bringing it to life through song. It is inspiring and I hope people will be aware of the hurtful words they say to people.

    12. 12. Eric commented:

      Wed 22/9/10, 7:45 pm

      Thank you to Michelle for sharing! As a parent of a Special Ed. child you hurt for them when the world misunderstands what gifts they truly are. The helplessness when an admin calls you and tells you your child eats lunch alone everyday. The awesome thing is with right support they can and do turn a corner. Today my child who is a Jr. in HS has a great social group of friends and is making great strides. She is very involved in the youth group at church and truth be known she is the reason we as a family are back in church and heavily involved. Hard to answer your child with a solid answer as to why we were not going to church. The lord works in very mysterious ways.

    13. 13. chloe commented:

      Thu 23/9/10, 8:39 pm

      wow what great story about you can show god’s love through songs on your fans

    14. 14. Magann commented:

      Sun 26/9/10, 9:21 am

      I remember you bringing the family out on stage at Unity. That was very touching, I felt blessed for you to share that with us and bring the son and his family out. Great Song, it made me cry.

    15. 15. Barb Konrad commented:

      Tue 28/9/10, 3:33 pm

      I am so glad you put this song on the CD. When you gave a shout out to my son Greg who has Down Syndrome at your concert at Busch Gardens and then sang this song, my eyes welled up with tears and as they flowed down my face I remember thinking how you hit that nail right on the head. Life is so difficult for our kids but they know God is their true friend forever and always. This world can be a cruel place and Greg does go on, forgives and mostly never even realizes that what people say or what they do to hurt him. Thank you Matthew for your love and friendship and for this song.

    16. 16. Sarah commented:

      Mon 4/10/10, 3:17 pm

      Michelle, I heard your story on my local radio station, but I didn’t get to hear the whole thing, so I am glad that it is posted on here. I am literally from same area as you, so this story really touched me. I know how cruel Middle School can be. I endured so much and I am so glad that all of it is behind me. I do not personally know what it is like, but I know many people with a learning disability, two of which are my neighbors whose mother is fighting a school district for her son to have one on one learning sessions. The school will not allow her son to have one one one, even though she has legal documentation that states that he needs to have it! It is ridiculous, and I am so glad that she is fighting for her son, just like you did for you son. Her son also gets treated badly, and he is only 4 years old! I don’t understand how people can be so cruel? I pray for him, and I will pray for you and your son. Take care, and God bless!

    17. 17. Sarah Schaper commented:

      Mon 4/10/10, 3:32 pm

      I heard part of your story on the radio, so I am glad that I am able to read all of it on here. :) I live in the same area as Michelle, so this song has a very local feel, which was really nice. But what is even better is the actual story. Michelle, bless you for being such a wonderful mother. I cannot fathom how your son felt dealing with those people. I had a very hard time in middle school as well. My parents divorced, and the people I thought were my friends abandoned me, and I became so depressed and lost that I started to abuse my body. It was horrible, and something that I am ashamed of, but God helped me through it all.

      I do not have a learning disability, but I know people who do. My neighbor has two sons with a leaning ability, and currently, she is fighting a school district that will not allow one of her sons to have one on one learning sessions instead of group sessions. She has legal documentation that states her sons condition, but the school will not let her have it. He is only 4 years old too! He even gets picked on, which is terrible. People have said things like “There she is with her stupid son.” What kind of people say things like that?!

      Thank you Matthew West for taking the time to read people’s stories and to write about some of them. You are truly wonderful and a gifted musician.

      God bless!

    18. 18. Michelle commented:

      Wed 6/10/10, 2:16 pm

      Great song Matthew! I heard this song for the 1st time at the E-Women’s conference in Greensboro this year. I could not wait until this CD came out so I could let my daughter listen to it. She is now 11 & in the 6th grade & has blossomed into a beautiful young lady that I am so proud to call my daughter & I thank God every day for allowing me to be her mother!

      She was always my little “Chunky Monkey” strong-willed child. We moved in the middle of her 2nd grade school year so which meant, she also had to change schools. Chelsey struggled with acceptance from day 1. It is ashame that kids are already “clicky” at that age! She was never invited to b-day parties, hardly made friends & was made fun of because of her weight. She was literally threw in front of a bus because this school was so much more advanced compared to the previous school she came from & she struggled academically and the teacher was so impatient with her. She would cry saying she wanted to go back to her other school! Third grade was also tough & she had to go to summer school that year. As several years passed & as she kept struggling with all the same things, God put someone in my path at just the right time. She told me all the things she delt with, with her own child who has ADD. As much as I didn’t want to accept that my child had a learning disability, I wanted to help her in every way that I could. She had a wonderful 4th grade teacher who pushed her to succeed & never gave up on her! After making a trip to the Dr. with my concerns, she was put on a medication for ADD. Within a few days, I could already tell a difference. She passed both of her EOG’s that year which made me so proud of her! During that summer, she dropped about 30 pounds & was no longer my little “Chunky Monkey” plus size daughter. When she went back to school her 5th grade year, no one hardly recognized her! She made lots of new friends last year & she is such a different child now. It is so sad that it took her going thru so much pain by kids making fun of her or not accepting her into their little “clicks” and loosing 30 lbs. Now she has more friends than she knows what to do with!
      I am so thankful that God used you to write these special songs! May God keep blessing your very talented ministry!

    19. 19. Annette commented:

      Mon 18/10/10, 9:29 am

      I heard this song on my way to drop my son (6) off at school today. He’s not a special needs child, but he’s struggled with the let down of a father who’s never met him.
      Thank you Matthew for the answer to when he asks me why his father’s not there, and thank you to Michelle for being an inspiration for God to work through you and Matthew to touch thousands of lives with your story.

    20. 20. MaryAnne Skora commented:

      Fri 22/10/10, 5:01 pm

      This is so beautifully said, the struggles Connor is facing can be taken up to God and in the eyes of Christ, he is ultimately precious, a unique, chosen child. To know that even when his friends weren’t being the kind of friends one wants, Jesus sat through the tears with Connor is and is still holding him tight.This song just really touched me and stirred my heart and I cannot say in even a thousand words how much you are doing to the whole world by sharing these stories….truly, the healing has begun.

      I am so super excited to see you in concert Sunday night!!!!!!!!!!!! I Have been counting down and screaming non stop out of joy! Seriously, when I have doubt on my faith or just times when I honestly feel like giving up everything, going to one of your concerts honestly restarts my heart so to speak. It’s like I need that restoration of faith and I need to know that it isn’t going to stop yet, we are just telling our story. The story of our life. I got your album Thursday night and really cried out of hearing the song “Two Houses”, I could not even imagine. God bless you and will see you soon! Best of luck and thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t know how I can say how much you have inspired me and how much your music means to everyone, can’t wait for the day when all of your songs are on the radio forever.

      take care and safe travels.

    21. 21. Caroline Austin commented:

      Sun 14/11/10, 8:41 am

      The sorty is a beautiful story that fulled tears in my eyes. I live in Clarksville, TN. I belong to the Veteran’s group organization called H.O.W.W. (Honoring Our Wounded Warriors) they struggle every day also in recovering from the wounds and injuries that they suffered. As they recovered we are there to help them in anyway we can. We want them to know that they are not alone and that there are a lot of people out there just like the other, Connor is not alone and he needs to know that there are others out there just like him and he needs to reach out and help them too. God will punish those who have hurt the ones that can’t fight back because what goes around comes around. Just don;t let it rule your life keep going forward and thrive. These warriors we help and go to their homes and do home repairs and other things for them keep going forward and Connor and other kids like him need to do the same thing. To me Connor is a Warroir in his own making, thanks just sharing my thoughts.

    22. 22. Jen B commented:

      Sun 14/11/10, 6:10 pm

      When I first heard this song I wept. 12 years into my son’s struggles with Aspergers it has not been an easy road. He is now is Middle School and has decided that the anxiety of socializing is too much, so he only interacts when he has to in class. This is a kid that has never been invited to anyone else’s house, or birthday party in the 12 years of his life.

      His struggles are aligned with positives that are above normal, and that although he wants to be normal he would have to lower himself to meet normal in those areas. It doesn’t take away the pain of today, but thank you God for allowing him to be a fantastic artist ~ I pray and hope he changes the world with it, along with his great love for God. Thank you Michelle, Conner, and your family for sharing your pain and Matthew for giving me something lovely to help my heart.

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