Help Me God

"Help Me God" - Kathy Troccoli

Love & Mercy featuring “Help Me God”

For over 20 years, Kathy Troccoli has been one of my favorite Christian artists. I love her songs, her velvety voice, and I’ve been singing along with her for years.

So, just to prove God’s hand has been in everything, he arranged it many years ago that Kathy Troccoli and Ron Wikso would go to the same high school in East Islip, New York. When Ron told me that, I just thought, “Of course you did.”

Kathy recorded “Help Me God” for her 1997 album “Love and Mercy”.

 

 

 

I remember feeling really close to the song, “Help Me God” after the infamous 9/11 attacks. It offered some peace in a hostile and unpredictable world. Remember how we felt after the attacks? It was hard to escape the news, or watch TV without a “breaking news” report. We constantly wondered if it could happen again.

At the time, we were staying in a hotel in Orlando, Florida. We had finished our Disney vacation, and were on our way to the airport when we were told to turn around and go back to the hotel. We were with another family with three children, and did our best to keep the kids in a separate room away from the TV airing the attacks. But, they were very aware of what we were watching, and what was being discussed in the room across from theirs. When I went into the kid’s room to check on them, I couldn’t find my son Logan, or his buddy Jarod (both 4 years-old at the time). The girls told me where they were, and I found them. They were hiding under a table. I asked them what they were doing under there, and they said, “We’re afraid the planes are going to hit US.”

I told them there wouldn’t be any planes hitting us, and tried to reassure them. Logan said, “We thought we should hide because of ALL of those planes hitting ALL of those buildings.” They thought every time the news showed the footage of the planes hitting the twin towers, it was actually NEW planes hitting MORE buildings, and by now there had been several attacks.

9/11 Memorial Tribute Video featuring our version of “Help Me God”

"Help Me God" - Wish Upon A StarIsn’t it amazing how the innocence of children can remind us of how powerful the images and thoughts of being attacked are when played over and over in our minds? If we hold those images, or replay them, it’s like giving those negative things the power to hurt us (and attack us) again and again. The news kept playing the tragedy, and we kept feeling violated.

We do the same thing when we replay a broken record of pain and sadness in our minds. We believe we are still being hurt by the awful thing that hurt us ONCE.

We keep the wounds of the past open by remembering the agony so often, we accept it as the present truth.

 

“Help Me God” gives us the words to pray for HEALING, instead of empowering the pain that keeps us broken.

For our version of “Help Me God”, Wally Minko not only played the piano beautifully but he also wrote a truly inspiring part for cello, which weaves in and out to create a wonderful tapestry of sound. The cello part was magnificently played by the talented Bihn Park. I feel truly blessed to have been able to sing a song I have felt so close to for so long, with such a brilliantly performed track.

When you have a problem, and you can’t find the words to pray, I hope you’ll find comfort and peace through our version of this beautiful song.