Love Never Fails

Longing for the Garden - Song Stories, Part 1

Mamaw and Papaw on their wedding day, circa 1952

I’ve been holding this song close for a while — my husband and I wrote ‘Love Never Fails” for my grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary in 2012. 

The day we played it for them was special: our extended family gathered for a feast honoring them in my aunt’s beautiful home on the river in Dayton, TN. I was 8 months pregnant with our firstborn and stood beside them while Andrew played guitar. I remember it so well.  

The next time we played the song was at Mamaw’s funeral, which was 10 years ago this week. We played it for my Papaw’s service in 2022, and also for his grandmother’s in 2023. Because of this history, the song is filled with complex emotions for both of us. Tears often flow when I sing it, and this was true even in the studio. The piano intro quotes the opening line from the hymn “In The Garden,” which was a favorite of both of our grandmothers. 

You know the text, taken from 1 Corinthians 13 (“the love chapter”). The part that has always stuck out to me is verse 12: “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.”  When cross-referenced, this verse might not automatically take you to the last chapter of the Bible, but it did for me:

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, 

as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of

God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.

On each side of the river stood the tree of life, 

bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.

And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” 

Revelation 22:1-2

Each of us experiences great loss on this side of heaven, and suffering is a daily part of the human condition.  We long to be held and soothed by a parent or grandparent again. We long for the innocence of childhood that was stolen much too soon. We long for cancer to bow the knee. We long to embrace the prodigal child who is far from home. We long for “the good old days” - or maybe we resent that what should have been “the good old days” were actually the hardest days of our life. We long to be healed, and for the wrong things to be made right. 

I often struggle with doubt, but when I sing this song, I believe this in my bones - that the promise of Jesus is the promise of restoration. There IS healing for us now, and there will be glory on the other side. We will be held by Jesus, cry the last of all of our tears, and he will dry our eyes. 

We only know in part/But we will know fully/When perfection comes the doubt will fade away

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 

  Much Love,

Emily