ChristianMusicDaily

Author, songwriter, poet. Mitch McVicker is all of these and dreams of more--like creating his own travel documentary and playing a tuba.

Some of his dreams have come true. But, Mitch McVicker knows those dreams could have been stripped away in a single day in 1997 when his best friend, Rich Mullins, was killed in an automobile accident. McVicker's voice (in the same accident) was changed forever.

"I think I started noticing (my voice) very well could have been healed four years after the wreck. I know my voice was knocked down to 15 to 20 percent and it had taken me 24 years for my voice to grow to that point. It's not surprising to me to have someone say, 'Well it will take a few years for it to grow back to where it was.' My voice is different now, but I couldn't expect anything more. It is just up to me now to use what I've been given to become a better singer," he says.

The now happily-married McVicker simply embraces what he's been given without questioning.

"I don't know why Rich was taken from the body of Christ and why I overcame the obstacles I was facing so I could remain. I think we get caught up in all the logistical matters of life--the what, where, when and all of that--and God tells us to move forward and embrace what we're given. I know Rich is embracing what he's been given right now and so I try to embrace what I've been given. What have I been given? What do I get to do? I get to stick around, to love," McVicker says, as he reflected a moment on the past.

There's no bitterness for the tragedy that forever changed him.

"I'm glad for Rich and I'm just glad for me," he says.

He has learned life is just "walking by faith trusting you're doing what you need to do regardless of the outcome."

Does he ever think about what Rich Mullins would say about his career?

"I think about what his reaction would be to pretty much every song I write and it is truly intimidating. He was the best-- the very best. It's good to try and live up to his investment in me. I know comparison isn't a healthy thing, so I go, 'You know this is not going to be a Rich Mullins song. But every now and then, what has rubbed off on me will show itself. I'm thankful for that influence. When he was around, I was always trying to make him proud of me, so I hope that's still going on," he says, laughing again.

McVicker gains inspiration from journaling.

"Journaling is a very spiritual thing as far as opening myself up to life, the day in the life ahead and reading the scripture. Every now and then something will spill out while I'm journaling and I am like, 'Wow, I should go with that a bit' and swish it around in my head. It might end up being something I talk about in a concert or something that ends up being a song--but, I think that's the whole idea behind it-- being sensitive to what God is doing inside of you," he says.

"I don't think we need to focus on ourselves nearly as much as we think we do. I love getting to share what's happening with me in hopes that it will points people to Jesus," he says.