Chasing Fireflies in the Twilight: A Memoir by Carol Owens

Unpromising beginnings. Undreamed-of endings.\nMemories—historic, holy, hilarious—flicker like fireflies in the twilight years of my long life. They begin their dance in 1931, in dust-drowned Oklahoma, and light my path to the capitals of the world. Only now that I’m old enough to take time to look back, and back further still, have I seen how early a life-pattern began to form. And that every part had a purpose: From childhood illnesses that drove my impoverished family to drastic migration; to loneliness that drove me to music and books; to inner struggles between confidence and despair—all those seemingly negative experiences set me up and drove me gladly to God, and He changed everything.\nWith my husband, Jimmy Owens, I’ve been privileged to partner with and love some of the most godly, talented, loyal, funny people ever created: Jack Hayford, Pat and Shirley Boone, Andrae Crouch, Barry McGuire, Keith and Melody Green, The 2nd Chapter of Acts, Michael and Stormie Omartian, Jamie Owens-Collins, Paul Baloche, David and Dale Garratt are a few I’ve mentioned here. Together, we have helped shape the way our world worships and prays.\nSo, that said, who would read my story?\nPerhaps Christians who have sung my and Jimmy’s music in their churches—simple worship choruses such as Freely, Freely; Holy, Holy; Clap Your Hands—and may not have known who wrote them. Or those who toured America and Britain with our big productions such as Come Together or If My People or The Witness. Or those courageous people who attended or performed them behind the Iron Curtain, hiding from the Communists; or underground in Egypt, hiding from the Islamists; or who sang If My People Will Pray on the streets as they went to face an army during the Philippine revolution.\nThen there’s a younger generation of Christians who may simply find our adventures compelling, even surprising. And especially, I pray, that those whose beginnings have not been promising may find new courage as they see what God can and will do in spite of all manner of disadvantages, weaknesses and mistakes.\nThe tale is not strictly chronological: It begins at the beginning, but with much backing-and-forth-ing when memories spark. They are memories of an octogenarian seeking the highlights of a long life—like chasing fireflies in the twilight.