Хиллари Скотт отметила 10-летие альбома, вдохновленного поддержкой сообщества после смерти дедушки

Ten years ago, Hillary Scott and her family were grieving the loss of her grandfather when she got a phone call with an urgent request: “Let’s go to lunch,” her father said. “I have something I really want to talk to you about.” Hillary’s grandfather was pivotal to her upbringing and daily life. “His passing was definitely the most up-close, difficult grief I had experienced up to that point,” she says. “He was a foundational pillar of my life and our family’s life.” When he was diagnosed with leukemia, the family set up a CaringBridge page to update their loved ones—it turned out to be so much more. “A couple hundred people were commenting and praying and encouraging us and encouraging him. After he passed, my dad was reflecting on that community of people that rallied around us and felt a deep pull to do something to say thank you.” During their lunch together, her father said, “I feel like this is an act of obedience to God. We are supposed to do something to show our gratitude for the way that this community rallied around us.” Hillary listened and sat with it, spoke to her husband, and prayed. Eventually, those conversations and that reflection led to Love Remains, released in 2016. Hillary recorded the album with her parents, Linda Davis and Lang Scott, and her sister, Rylee. It includes 13 tracks, from traditional hymns and contemporary Christian songs to original recordings. Though the project began as a gesture of gratitude to the community that supported them, it took on a life of its own. “We believe the lyrics of these songs to the core of our being. Why not make it so that everybody can hear it and everybody can experience it?” Hillary says. “One of the coolest things about the Lord is if you’re dialed and hearing Him, He will breathe on something and make it surpass your wildest imagination. That’s how my dad kind of explained it. … And so I went to my team and my record label, and just said, ‘Here’s my heart. Here’s my hope for this.’” The album went on to win the Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album. “Thy Will,” Hillary’s song written after her pregnancy loss, won for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song. A decade later, the powerful music continues to resonate with fans, who share their own stories of grief and hope in the comment sections of Hillary’s social media feeds and YouTube videos. “I have full-body goosebumps, and it puts a lump in my throat. Our voices and these words are a part of people’s most personal, intimate moments of pain. Of course, there are some hopeful songs on it. It is unbelievably humbling to think about those moments. I am overwhelmed with deep gratitude, but also hope in humanity,” she says. “If we can lead with vulnerability like that, and be honest with going through things that are hard, and if we can lean on each other, it’s one of the most beautiful and brave parts of being human. At the center of that, the source of our joy and the source of our comfort in hard times, is God. To imagine that the comment section within the context of this music can be that is a huge blessing. It really makes me so emotional.” On July 28, Hillary commemorated the album’s 10th anniversary with a special night at the Grand Ole Opry. She was joined by her family, her collaborators on the album, and her Lady A bandmates. The evening included a performance of “The River” with The Whites. “We had only done that one other time. When we went into rehearsal, the second they started singing, I lost it. I was overcome with emotion. It was a peak moment for me,” she says. “We saw so many friends who came backstage, and everyone could feel the love, and it was buzzing with love and excitement.” Hillary and her husband, Chris Tyrrell, have four daughters, Eisele, Emory, Betsy, and Selah, and the girls are now making their own connections to their mom’s music. “Eisele just turned 13, so she was three when this record came out, and I remember her as a little girl bopping her head to ‘The River’ and ‘Ain’t No Grave.’ Then when the twins came along, they have been drawn to ‘Thy Will,’ which is so precious,” Hillary says. “I recently told them, ‘Y’all two are tangible examples of God’s faithfulness, of what He told me when we wrote ‘Thy Will.’ It’s just to trust His plan and to trust that He knows what’s best. Y’all two are standing there, living, breathing examples of God’s faithfulness.’” The girls are beginning to grasp that other people know their mom’s music too, Hillary says. “We invite them in to hear it and to experience it, but there’s a whole lot getting played at our house right now. There’s a lot of the new Descendants movie. One of my twin girls loves all things Imagine Dragons, and Eisele’s in her musical theater era.” Katie Bowlby is Digital Director at Country Living, where she covers pop culture news including country music, Yellowstone, and all things HGTV, plus gift guides and product reviews. She has been with Country Living for more than 11 years. Before that, she worked for Southern Living. The Indiana University grad also stitches up the cross-stitch pattern for every issue of the magazine.