It’s a rare and beautiful thing when a young person finds their purpose in life and begins pursuing it with zeal. Such is the case with Chloe*. “I wrote ‘That’s Why I Sing’ in honor of my Poppie,” Chloe shared. “I learned how short life is when he was fighting cancer. I sang it to him several times before he passed away.”

* Her real name is used with permission.

That’s Why I Sing

“‘That’s Why I Sing’ is about how God is always with you, especially during the hard times. When life is overwhelming, we need to give our worries to Him. When we do, we are telling God we know we can’t fix it on our own. And we need Him.” Please check out Chloe’s video for ‘That’s Why I Sing.’ Take the time to listen as Chloe won FIRST PLACE in a local artist contest with her song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLE1pzQwaoY She may be young, but her passion for music comes through in her song. With that much wisdom now, just imagine her level of wisdom when she reaches her 40’s!

Fought to Overcome

Chloe definitely learned about fighting to overcome from her Poppie, but she knows about it firsthand as she has fought to overcome chronic health struggles herself. It all started when she was in first grade. She experienced fevers, severe stomach aches, and felt fatigued several times a week. “I was a perfectionist with my schoolwork. When I was worried about my performance, it made my symptoms worse.” The doctors did blood work many times over the course of four months. Finally, Chloe was sent to an infectious disease doctor. He did a colonoscopy and discovered Chloe had Crohn’s disease all the way from her mouth to her rectum. Her first treatment consisted of steroids that did reduce the pain but masked the symptoms. Several other treatments were tried before landing on an immunosuppressive IV treatment every seven weeks, which helped reduce the inflammation.

Rejecting the Medication

Because she spent so much time during the school day in the restroom dealing with bowel movements and pain, Chloe started homeschooling at the beginning of 5th grade. Nearing the end of the fourth year of IV treatments, Chloe’s hair began falling out and she couldn’t keep any food down. She lost so much weight that she only weighed 62 pounds. Her body was rejecting the medication. Her symptoms were severe enough to land her in the hospital off and on for two weeks as the doctors tried to stabilize her. A CT scan and colonoscopy showed her small intestines were so swollen that nothing could go through. Much to her frustration, the doctors insisted Chloe have a feeding tube. During this time, Chloe remembers feeling lifeless. “It was scary, but I learned to trust God. I knew in the blink of an eye things could be different.”

Singing Was Her Purpose

It took six months to get her body back to an acceptable level of health. The feeding tube was removed, and a new treatment plan was created. Humira, another immunosuppresive drug, would be injected every two weeks. Chloe learned how to administer the injection herself. The Humira does so well at reducing her inflammation, Chloe has not had to restrict her diet. What a blessing that has been! That summer at church camp, Chloe sat alone at the beach, watching the waves and praying. She made a decision to accept salvation at age six, but at age fourteen, Chloe wanted to know her purpose. She prayed, “God, whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.” By the time she left camp, she felt sharing her love for God through singing was her purpose. Pushing past her fears, Chloe sang at a Valentine’s Day banquet at church. The music minister was so moved he invited Chloe to join the praise band. She has enjoyed participating in the praise band since then.

 

 

Writing and singing songs ties in to this Anne Frank quote that impacted Chloe many years ago. “I know songs last longer than a person does. Even years beyond their death. I want to leave a legacy like Anne Frank did.” Even with a few years of high school to finish, Chloe is already planning for college. “My prayer is to write songs and lead others in worship. I plan to study music in college.”

Find the Sparkle Everyday

Chloe has lived with a chronic illness most of her life. How does a young person keep such a positive attitude despite the sometimes daily struggle? She declares, “I don’t agree with the saying that God won’t give you more than you can handle. I think He does allow more than we can handle because it gives us the opportunity to trust Him. I wouldn’t be as close to God if it weren’t for my struggles. I believe overcoming is looking at the past hardships in your life and knowing you learned so much during that time. It gives you a different outlook. You become stronger and wiser.”

Hidden in all that wisdom is still a young person who is full of life.

She said, “And I try to find the sparkle everyday!”

Leave a reply (below): You know when you just know someone has something big in them and will influence the world in a BIG way? I just know this about Chloe.

Can you imagine the impact she’ll have when she shares her wisdom about struggles and how they are paths to drawing you closer to God through her music? If you see it too, please leave words of encouragement for this amazing young woman.