Oh How Sweet Is The Victory

This afternoon, we have the visitation and tomorrow the funeral for my father, Rev. Kenneth F. Brand. He often wrote songs and always dated them when they were finished.

We found the following, handwritten words on his piano's music holder after he died. The paper was undated, which means it was still a work in progress. My brother, Jason, was in their home in the days leading up to Dad's heart attack, but he had never noticed the paper on the piano, even though it sits in a very prominent and visibile place in the living room. That makes us think that he had written it in the last day or so before he died. He was a very early riser and may even have penned the words early Christmas morning. Late that evening he was taken to the hopsital.

Unfortunately, we do not have any idea of the melody...

Oh How Sweet Is The Victory!

I.

Oh the storm has come and passed,

I can see the sunshine at last.

There's a rainbow appearing just for me,

Sure, I've suffered for a while,

But, He gave me a brand new smile,

And oh how sweet is the victory!

Chorus

Oh how sweet is the victory,
After the battle has been won,
Well, I've got the valley far behind,
Living on the mountain, walking in the sunshine,

Oh how sweet is the victory!

II.

Well the ole river was dark and wide,
But He was waiting on the other side,
Jesus has set me safely across the rolling tide.
There were many times I thought I'd drown,
But He was standing on solid ground,
And Oh how sweet is the victory!

(repeat chorus 2 times)

It's something...as I was just typing those words in on the computer, I had a melody come to mind that fits perfectly. It's as if I can hear him playing the piano and singing this song in my head...One thing's for sure, if he could speak to us now, this song expresses some of what I think he'd say.

"...thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Corinthians 15:57 NIV)