Brandon Heath is a five-time GRAMMY-nominated, eight-time Dove Award-winning Christian music artist. He has released six studio albums with several #1’s including “I’m Not Who I Was,” “Give Me Your Eyes,” and “See Me Through It.”
We had a great conversation while filming outdoor worship series Our Story Our Song, and because we can’t fit it all into one episode, we’re taking you behind the scenes. Catch the full episode at YouTube.com/RootandVine and be sure to subscribe, like and comment for more live music.
What is giving you reason to hope these days?
You know, since I’ve had kids, they have really shaped who I am. I have two little girls and they are going to be around hopefully, a lot longer than I am and so I try and give them a sense of optimism. But I would rather just call it hope, you know. That God is ultimately in control, and that He loves us and knows us intimately. So if that is the case, then I think the future is pretty bright. I think there’s a lot to be hopeful about. It doesn’t mean that we’re not going to go through really hard seasons where hope is the last thing on our mind. But what I think knowing God means is that we aren’t always going to be in the dark season, eternity will be in heaven and God won’t leave us in those really empty, lonely dark seasons. They’ll only be seasons. They won’t be forever. So I think if you can look at life like that, you know, seasons, they’re less intimidating. You just take it one day at a time, that’s how God calls us to live.
What is your favorite thing to do in nature surrounded by God’s Creation?
I walk in the woods early in the morning, there’s usually some deer around. And so if I get to cohabitate with nature, you know, like I’m walking and the deer are walking through, or the squirrels or whatever, we’re all God’s creatures. We’re there together. I think there is something very connecting and worshipful about that. That’s probably my favorite thing.
Nature reveals to us the natural cycles of life and how everything has a time. How do you see that reflection in your own life?
There are seasons where everything needs to die. I used to not like the winter at all. And no kidding, it’s my favorite time of the year now. We have a big backyard and we have snakes. That’s the other thing. I know if I go in my backyard in the wintertime, there aren’t going to be any snakes. So I can let my guard down a little bit. But yeah, I’ve just learned to appreciate the wintertime, you can light a fire and know that it’s not forever.
You started playing backyards during COVID and have continued to do so. What is it about the backyard experience that you connect with?
We did backyards during COVID because it was safer to be in people’s backyards but it’s a vulnerable thing. You’re showing up at somebody’s house to play music and you’re eating their food and sometimes you have to use their restroom, you know? It’s a very vulnerable place but it actually made me love playing music like I haven’t before. Like, I haven’t loved it before.
I was just at this couple’s house, Allen & Vera Timmons in Charleston, South Carolina. This is my third time to play their backyard. And they really are like family now. I feel like certain fans, people that used to be fans of my music, are now family.
What is one scripture that you find yourself coming back to time and time again when you need encouragement?
It comes from 1 John 4:7-8, dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love.
I’ve had that verse for a long time because I had a misperception about who God was; that he wasn’t love, that he was judgy, and his bar was way too high for me to ever achieve. I think especially now that I have kids, I get it. I get that his love really is through Jesus, unconditional, will not change. I can see that with my kids. There’s nothing they could do to make me love them less and so if I love my kids that much, how much more does God love us?
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Root and Vine