When I got home and tried to tell my little sister about what had happened I found that neither she, nor any of my friends had the slightest interest in what had happened to me.  I walked around school singing the only old hymns I could think of, filled with joy ("He arose, He arose," "He lives he lives....") but with no idea at all how to share with others.  I finally hit upon the idea of writing a song. I'd never written one before and had no idea how many lines or stanzas were needed to make a "real song." But I had read thousands of poems and I knew 4 chords on my guitar, so I set out to put my story to music. I really thought that every single time I sang that first song, I would have to stop and explain what I meant and tell the whole story of seeing the water and so on. I was young enough then to be able to do one thing for several days at a time (a luxury I no longer have), so it was all I did for a week was work on the song. When my sister heard it, she cried and came to church with me to accept Jesus into her heart. She was at a friend's home when I sang it, so the friend accepted Jesus, too. My sister and I sang it together to other friends and they came to the Lord. It was the movement of God and we got to be a part of it. Hope that gives you a bit of the "hope that is within me" and I hope YOU keep on writing! Yours in Christ's Service. 

[Email] Dear Marsha--First of all, thank YOU for that song-- it has been a great blessing to me and my walk with Jesus…It's such an honor to "talk" to you! What’s the story behind "For Those Tears I Died"? Were you going through a crisis in your life?  I’m a songwriter as well and each one has a separate "back story" all its own. What was the writing process like for that song? Was it long and drawn out or did you write it in 10 minutes? I'd love to know. [Email end]

3) Do you feel split between the lesbian community and the Christian community? 

Marsha: No, not at all. We have tons of friends from several faiths and attractions. Every so often I still get the, "Why on earth would you want to be a CHRISTIAN?" question. But mostly the angst comes from the fundies [editor note: fundamentalist.] I probably answer a hundred emails a week, most of them similar to what you see above.

www.BalmMinistries.net

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