“I'm A Winner Either Way” March 2020
I was listening to hymns by Joey and Rory Feek the other night while working on the news letter. Joey and Rory sang country and gospel music and where a couple with a very deep faith in our Lord Jesus. Joey went thru a long battle with cancer which she lost in 2016 at the young age of 41 years old. Between the Hymns they were being interviewed by Bill Gaither about her struggle with cancer. People where amazed how they always had such a positive outlook going forward. Joey told of an experience she had while in the hospital. She went on to tell a story about another cancer patient she met in the hall way. The woman asked her “How can you be so sure and certain of tomorrow and having the peace that you have” Joey said to her, “Don't you get it, if you are a true believer you win if you stay and you win if you leave, either way your a winner, but only if you believe”. The woman paused for a moment and said “I never looked at it that way before.” she said “I am a believer, and I going to start thinking that way in the days to come” Joey's prayer was “Pray for a miracle… and even more so, for peace with Hisdecision”. There's not one of us who knows what God has planned for us or when He will call us home. But if we truly believe all we do know is we are a winner either way. A couple of nights after I wrote this article I heard a gospel song “I'm a Winner Either Way”, so I looked it up and here's the story. I'M A WINNER EITHER WAY By Laura Colston Lewis/Trina Curtis “In 1991 the doctors told Gene Malone from East Tennessee that he had cancer. Gene had been serving the Lord a long time. One day his friend and mine, Trina Curtis, a Church of God pastor’s wife, went by to pray for him. She said, “I’m praying for your healing, Gene.” He replied, “I knew you would." Trina said, "Either way, you're not gonna lose." He said, "Nope, I'm a winner either way!" Later Gene did go home to be with the Lord, and after that I was visiting with Trina one day. She told me what Gene had said about being a winner. I said, "Trina, there's a song in that!" She replied, "Well, write it!" I said, "No, you write it, it's your story." Though Trina had never written a song, she put a lot of thoughts on paper, and as she gave it to me she laughed and said, "This sounds like a Hallmark Card". As I looked it over, I thought, "What she needs is an outline to go by that will help her." So I sat down and started to put one together, and as soon as I put my pen to paper, the words just began to flow. Before I knew it, the song was written! It was a moment I'll never forget. I called Trina and told her what happened, and she was almost in tears because she was so ecstatic at how the Lord had moved so that the song could be completed. Several artists have recorded the song through the years, but it was not until 1998 when Mike Upright and Standing Tall sent it to radio that the song really began to minister to the masses. Now The Inspirations have recorded this song, sent it to radio, and it peaked on the national charts at #5, plus was voted by the Singing News Magazine as one of the most popular songs of 2006. Lewis & Lewis have received hundreds of testimonies of how the song has helped folks, and in talking with the above artists, they hear them all the time as well We're in awe of how God has used this song to minister to thousands, and thankful He continues to do so. As it says in the second verse of the song, "None of us really know about tomorrow." How true. So, we must prepare today to go to Heaven, because we don't know when our time will come. When we give our heart to Jesus, then we don't have to worry about tomorrow. No matter what happens, we'll be a winner either way!” A loved one knew he neared the end of life's journey
But he'd been holding to God's hand a long, long time
As I knelt beside his bed my heart was blessed by what he said,
"If I go or if I stay, victory's mine."
I'm a winner either way
If I go or if I stay
Cause I'll still have Jesus with me
Each passing day
I'll have a healing here below
Or life forever if I go
Praise the Lord, I'm a winner either way! None of us really know about tomorrow
So we must prepare to go to Heaven any day
While we're here, just trust the Lord
He'll lead us there for our reward
By His grace, we'll be a winner either way! If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:8