Every once in a while we get a song that absolutely surprises us. “Methods” by Katie Carlene fits the bill and features a guest spot from SOHH favorite, James Gardin.
Katie Carlene shared the inspiration behind the song:
“Methods” was inspired by all the ways that God has used to reach me in life. I think that He speaks to people in the ways He knows will connect with that particular person. For me, that’s always been music and nature. I grew up in Oregon. It’s pretty easy to see God around here. I’ve been seeing Him in the ocean, and the high desert, and the mountains since I can remember. And honestly, I don’t remember being taught that when I was a kid. It was just something I had always known. It was something I could feel. I used to lay in the field behind our farmhouse, and just stare up at the hills that surrounded the town I grew up in. And I would sing. And I knew that He was there with me, listening.
It’s easy to see God in the beautiful. It’s easy to feel God in a pretty song. It’s easy to see Him in a good deed. But as I grew up, I realized that God wasn’t just in the things that were pretty to look at. He was in all of it. He was in the wildflowers behind our house, but he was also in the dirt they grew out of. Like hitting rock bottom in an addiction that nobody knew about. Like being a relationship with an emotionally abusive man. Like my family being deeply hurt by The Church. Twice. The difference between seeing God in the light, and seeing God in the darkness, is that when it’s in the light, it’s immediate. He’s just there, right in front of you, waiting for you to look at Him. But It takes a little longer with the things waiting behind the darkness. Sometimes a lot longer. Sometimes your whole life. It takes all of your patience. And hope. And faith. But the thing is that once you finally see it, when you look back and it all makes sense, it completely transforms you. It changes your heart. It changes the way you see the world. It changes the way you see God. Really, “Methods” is just about trusting that God is here with us. Even when we’re surrounded by darkness.
