My great-great-great-grandfather on my father’s side, Johan Simon Dumser, came from Germany in the mid-1800s. He was a minister sent by the Lutheran church in Germany to bring Christianity to Native people around what is now Saginaw, Michigan. He is buried in Zion Cemetery in Monroe, Michigan.
Generations later, my father’s side of the family largely hadn’t retained his faith or religious beliefs. My mother’s family also came from a Lutheran tradition, but they held fast to their faith. I always found that contrast ironic. Growing up between those two family histories gave me a real understanding of grace, faith, and forgiveness.
That’s where this song comes from. We can receive God’s unearned love and forgiveness even when we don’t deserve it. It’s freely given to us.
Lyrics
Five generations came before me,
Long before I drew my breath.
A young man crossed from old Bavaria,
Trusting God with every step.
He carried nothing but the Gospel
To the forests of Michigan.
I wonder if he ever dreamed
Where that story's end would land.
The years rolled on like restless rivers,
Every branch chose where to bend.
Some held tightly to the old hymns,
Some let silence settle in.
My father's house forgot the hymns.
My mother's house kept singin' 'ehm.
Somewhere between the silence and the songs,
I found the grace that calmed my soul.
Grace is the gift, nothing earned.
That's what this old heart has learned.
I came with nothing of my own,
Yet somehow, by His grace, I found my home.
Grace is the gift, freely given.
Faith receives what came from Heaven.
I don't claim to know it all;
I only know His grace brought calm.
I spent years believing somehow
I could never truly belong.
Till His grace broke through the darkness,
And His love became my song.
I found mercy at the foot of
An old rugged cross alone.
Grace was always waiting for me,
And quietly led me home.
Jóhann Simon crossed an ocean
To carry grace through wilderness.
He planted seeds he'd never harvest,
Trusting God to do the rest.
Generations came between us,
Some believed and some let go.
Eventually grace found me,
And quietly calmed my soul.
My father's house forgot the hymns.
My mother's house kept singin' 'ehm.
Somewhere between the silence and the songs,
I found the grace that calmed my soul.
Grace is the gift, nothing earned.
That's what this old heart has learned.
Five generations brought me here.
Grace was waiting through the years.
My father's house forgot the hymns.
My mother's house kept singin' 'em.
Somewhere between the silence and the songs,
I found the grace that calmed my soul.