Faith Filled Family Magazine September 2016 | Page 49
Faith filled Family Magazine is honored to welcome Jason Gray, an incredible
singer, with a message in his album; “Where The Light Gets In” which reveals that
there is Hope that abides when the worst happens. And as Jason, so eloquently
puts it; “One of my favorite quotes ever is by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross,” Jason says.
“She wrote that ‘The most beautiful people we have known are those who have
known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their
way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an
understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving
concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.’ I wanted to capture that idea in my
songwriting. I think Where the Light Gets In is really about having a more fully realized hope. It’s not a hope based on circumstances or on things going the way you
hoped they would, but on a hope that abides, even when the worst happens.”
You are a singer, songwriter,
and a father. Tell us, before
becoming such a remarkable
singer, what was life like for
Jason Gray?
Ha! Well… I don’t know if I’m
all that remarkable of a singer…
but I guess in some ways my life
is not that much different, but
in others ways it is—though I’m
still more or less the same me.
I suppose the biggest difference is that I’m (hopefully) much
wiser now. I’ve been blessed
with many different kinds of
rich experiences and as a travelling artist I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to see life from
a unique perspective and meet
so many wonderful and different
kinds of people. All of their stories have become a part of mine,
and because of that my story is
deeper and wider than it’s ever
been.
At what age did you realize
you were destined to become
a singer?
What circumstances can you attribute to
you becoming a singer?
I remember walking home from
school as a 3rd grader and having
a deep sense that I was supposed to make music. There’s a
quote I love by Frederick Buechner about vocation, “The place
God calls you to is the place
where your deep gladness and
the world’s deep hunger meet.”
I feel very blessed that I knew
where that place was in my life
at a very young age. I suppose
the fact that I grew up on the
road with my mom’s bar band
helped me think of a career in
music as a possibility, but it was
also because music played such
a big part in my life even when
I was young. As a shy kid with
a stutter from a broken home, I
was pretty inward, kind of a loner
and I’d listen to music for hours
in my room by myself. It was a
companion to me, medicinal,
and made me feel like I wasn’t
alone. I knew I wanted to be a
part of that medicine.
Now, you went through a
divorce, resulting in you
becoming a single father.
What impact has that had on
your life? What do you say to